


A Swan I Plan to Keep

by nycz



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Collars, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Light Dom/sub, Post-Curse Storybrooke, a bit cracky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-01-16 15:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 44,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1352836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nycz/pseuds/nycz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a result of a spell and a long night with Regina, Emma finds herself wearing a collar that she can't remove and with side effects that are... unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On Turtlenecks and Fashion Sense

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out more cracky than I thought it would, but might get some/a lot of smut later on. I don't really have it planned out, so... we'll see.
> 
> I have no beta, all mistakes are my own. Comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated. Happy reading :)

"Regina!"

The muffled shouts of one angry sheriff was accompanied by a loud hammering on the front door.

Regina took a slow sip of her coffee, enjoying the feeling of the liquid heat travelling down her throat. She closed her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. Any other day, Emma banging on her door would have annoyed her immensely, but not this day. She was in a splendid mood, in no small part because of the sheriff herself and the reason to why she was here.

"Regina! Open the hell up!"

Not wanting to upset Emma further, she took another sip and then made her way to the front door which Emma seemed determined to demolish with her bare hands.

"That's quite enough, dear. I heard you the first time," Regina greeted as she opened the door. She cocked her head to the side with a smirk, noting the lack of the usual horrid leather jacket Emma always insisted on wearing. Instead she was wearing a green turtleneck sweater. "I must say, this new look on you is rather fetching."

"Yeah yeah, real funny. Now let me in."

Regina's smirk grew wider.

"I'm _not_ doing this on your doorstep!" She looked close to pouting, her hands shoved deep in her jeans pockets and her brows set in a deep frown.

With a gesture of her hand, inviting the woman inside, Regina stepped aside and closed the door behind them.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Swan?" she asked with an airy voice, trying her best to supress the growing desire to laugh at her guest's growing pout. "Cider, coffee, maybe something stronger–"

"No, what I want you to do is to fix this. Now."

Regina gave her an innocent look. "Fix what? Seems to me that you already managed to fix your fashion sense; a task I feared even the best in the business would be unable to complete."

"Aren't you a real comedian," she muttered. "And you didn't have a problem with my clothes last night."

"As much as I like seeing those jeans painted onto your skin, they're hardly ideal when it comes to... removal."

Emma huffed, fixing her with a hard stare. "You've had your fun, now talk. I can't go around like this."

"Would you like to explain what 'like this' means, Miss Swan?"

"Really, back to Miss Swan again?" she asked, rolling her eyes. After only getting a friendly, disinterested look in return, Emma relented. "Fine, whatever. I'm just– oh for fuck–" The rest of her no doubt curse-filled sentence was muffled by her sweater as she not too gracefully tore it off, revealing the reason for her bad mood.

Fitted snugly around her neck was a brown leather collar.

"It won't come off. I tried everything short of a laser cutter. Get it off." She crossed her arms, a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Now why would you want to take it off, dear?" Regina's eyes had grown several shades darker and she was eyeing the woman in front of her with open lust. "I recall several nights that you begged me to put it on you," she added with a predatory grin.

"Look, I– I, uh, like it– I mean no, I don't like it, wearing it," Emma tried, stumbling over her words as her blush grew. "I can't walk around like this outside. I'd look like, like a–"

"A pet?" Regina supplied helpfully.

"Yes!" She blinked. "No!"

"You're not very coherent, dear."

"I'm _not_ coherent at all, because I'm wearing a fucking magical collar!"

"Indeed you are."

"So you're going to help me take it off before everyone starts wondering why I'm wearing turtlenecks and scarves all the time all of a sudden."

"And what makes you so sure I can help?"

"You're going to make me bargain for it? Beg for it?" Emma exclaimed, exasperated. "You're really going to do that now? Of all the–"

Regina interrupted her with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Before you go off ranting about my dubious ethics, it would do you good to pay attention for once." She waited for the sheriff to calm down a bit before continuing. "As much as I like seeing you beg–"

Emma snorted, muttering something most likely less than flattering.

"–I didn't say 'will', I said 'can'. As in, why do you think I would be able to help you, regardless of how much I would like to?"

"I... but–" Emma frowned, confused. "You know all this magic stuff, and I got the spellbook from you. And you did the spell... thing... whatever."

Regina studied her for a moment, her expression unreadable. "The spell-thing-whatever that you found in one of my books. I see. Why don't we continue this in the living room, dear. I believe you will want to sit down for this."

 

* * *

 

When Regina returned with the spellbook, Emma had already made herself comfortable on the sofa, or at least as comfortable as she could get, constantly fiddling with the collar circling her neck.

"For future reference, I would prefer if you actually paid attention when it comes to magic," Regina noted, her voice hard, taking a seat next to Emma. "While this is a relatively mundane spell, so to speak, there are plenty of other spells that could have much worse effects should you not take care to read the fine print."

"Spare me the lessons, Regina, just take the damn collar off of me."

Her patience with the disgruntled blonde wearing thin, Regina sighed, steeling her jaw. "I don't believe I can, which you would have known if you had listened to me and read the book."

"What the hell? You cast the spell, just uncast it!"

"I did not, Miss Swan."

Emma blinked. And stared.

"What?"

"I didn't cast the spell. You did." She paused, her lips quirking up into a small smile. "As a matter of fact, in a way I'm impressed. You actually managed to cast a fairly advanced spell, without my help."

The whole room was immediately lit up by the happy look on Emma's face, if only for a few moments. "Wait. I cast the spell?"

"That's what I said."

"But I can barely light a candle! Or even poof myself anywhere," Emma argued.

"Magic is emotion, dear. Unskilled users of magic require strong emotions to do anything, while seasoned users like myself can more easily channel the magic within us with nothing more than our will."

"Well explain to me how I could possibly want a fucking collar around–" She paused, her green eyes widening and darkening as scenes from the previous night came back to her. She swallowed thickly. "Oh. Well. Um." Her blush was coming back with vengence.

"You were very eager last night," Regina mentioned, cocking her eyebrow. "I believe your reasoning was something along the lines of _yes gods yes I want this please please_ –"

"Okay," Emma croaked. "So. How do I reverse it. Please don't tell me I need any of that True Love's kiss bullshit."

"This is a spell, not a curse. I doubt it would do any good."

"Well that's a relief. I'd hate to have to explain any of this to Henry."

Reaching for the spellbook, Regina opened it and quickly flipped to the page in question. "Only the one who cast the spell can undo it, as I'm sure you know."

Emma made a few noncommittal noises, pointedly looking at anything but Regina.

"Why don't you read about it yourself, dear," Regina said, handing over the book with a sickly sweet smile.

"Sure, why not," she muttered, snatching the book from Regina's hands none too gently.

They sat quietly for a while, Emma deep in concentration, reading the spellbook and Regina letting her eyes linger on the sheriff's hunched over form. She did look very good in a collar even while fully dressed, Regina noted with a smirk.

It hadn't been easy to get Emma to wear one the first few times, but eventually she'd relented. As strong and independent she was outside the bedroom, inside it with Regina her submissive side took over almost completely, and both women enjoyed it immensely. Especially last night.

"I'm... not sure I understand," Emma mumbled, confusion written clear across her face. "It says stuff about allegiances and knights and stuff."

"The spell was originally designed to be the ultimate proof of allegiance for knights and nobles back in the Enchanted Forest. They gave, quite literally, their life to their master as a sign of their unyielding loyalty. Often, they would give a sword, an amulet or some kind of family heirloom to be enchanted with their life essence and given to the one they pledged their allegiance to."

"Uhuh."

"The enchantment spell would also place a symbol on the knight, often their master's insignia or symbol of some kind, so that everyone would know their... special status.

"Now, the thing that made this spell and its result special was what happened to the artifact the knights gave to their masters. They had been infused with magic, and then infused with the life essence of the knight, and coded to, I suppose, the knight's master. This meant that as long as the master touched the artifact, the knight would be compelled to do what the master wanted."

Emma frowned. "Like when you rip out someone's heart."

"Exactly." Regina made a face, half smile and half wince. "I never bothered with that spell, seeing how I had... other options. Easier options."

"So, what does that have to do with me? I mean, I didn't give you an artifact or anything. Why can't I just undo it?"

"Because the spell was never designed to be used like you did. The way it was undone was usually by destroying the artifact. I did hear about one time a mage managed to extract the magic from the artifact itself and therefor rendering it inert, but that was mere rumors."

Huffing in frustration, Emma threw herself back against the sofa. "But I don't have an artifact! How the hell am I supposed to undo it then?"

Regina pursed her lips, studying Emma for a few moments. Then she stood, motioning her to follow. "Come along, Miss Swan, I'd like to try something."

Reluctantly, Emma joined her, standing in front of her as instructed. "Okay?"

"Give me your hand."

"Promise you'll give it back?" Emma quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Miss Swan–"

"Yeah yeah," she muttered, offering her hand.

Taking Emma's hand in her own, Regina ran a thumb over the top of the hand, enjoying the feeling of her skin and the knowledge of just what those fingers could do to her. Shaking herself out of those delicious thoughts before things would get too awkward, she met Emma's gaze.

"Jump," she said.

And Emma jumped.

"Smile."

Emma smiled.

"Tell me the first time you masturbated to a fantasy about me."

"We'd been fighting – again – and you were just so fucking–"

"Thank you, you can stop."

And with that, Regina let go of Emma's hand and met her bewildered stare with an amused expression.

"What the hell, Regina?" Emma finally managed to sputter out. "What did you just do?"

"Jump."

"No!"

Regina hummed thoughtfully, pursing her lips. Grabbing a hold of Emma's hand again, she took a step forward and purred, "get down on your knees and lick me."

Before she had even finished the sentence, Emma was on her knees, scrambling to push the offending clothing items covering her lover's lower body out of the way.

"That alright, dear, you can stop."

Moments later, Emma was standing again, her face flushed and eyes wider than ever. "W-what did you do to me," she stammered, voice hoarse.

"It's not what I did, Miss Swan, it's what you did. You do seem to have an artifact of sorts after all."

Emma stared at her, eyes wild.

"You know how knights in stories give their swords or lifes to a king or a queen? In this case it would seem to be more than a choice of words," Regina said.

"I don't understand, is it the collar? Is that the artifact?" Her hand shot up to the collar, fiddling with it.

"That would most likely be the symbol, showing your allegiance. To me. A most fitting symbol," she mused. "But no, the difference is how you formulated your spell last night. You didn't say 'I give my life to you' or 'I give my sword to you'. No, you said 'I give _myself_ to you'. You are the artifact."

Emma blinked, the facts slowly sinking in. "That means... if you touch me and tell me to do something, I have to do it," she mumbled, voice distant. "And I c-can't break the artifact, 'cause..."

"Yes," Regina agreed with a small nod.

And Emma fainted.


	2. Just a Little Harmless Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make things clear, this goes AU after the return from Neverland. Pan and Henry didn't switch bodies and there was no second curse.
> 
> Thanks for all comments and kudos, and happy reading :)

Emma awoke slightly disorientated, and it took her a little while to gather her bearings and remember where she was. Apparently Regina's sofa – where currently she was sprawled out on – was surprisingly comfortable.

"Welcome back."

Her eyes fluttered open to the sound of Regina's voice, and just as quickly snapped shut again as she remembered just why she had fainted in the first place.

A spell. A spell that would be difficult if not impossible to remove. A spell that would create a giant shitstorm if her parents ever found out. She groaned, slumping down in defeat.

"Tell me this is all a just a bad dream," she muttered, massaging her forehead while trying very hard not to think about the object around her neck.

"This is just a bad dream."

Emma's eyes shot open. "Really?"

"No." To Regina's credit, she at least tried to hide her smug smirk, albeit not too successfully.

"So," Emma sighed, "what do we do now. I can't go around wearing this in public, and if my parents find out that I'm magicked to do whatever you tell me anytime you touch me..." She shuddered.

"Technically, it's not what I say that you have to follow, it's what I think. I merely said what I wanted you to do to make my point clear." Her smirk grew a little predatory. "At least it won't be too obvious, dear."

Emma tried to laugh but what came out was more like a hoarse cough. "That's great. But seriously, how the hell am I supposed to get this off?"

"You seem in an awful hurry to get rid of it, dear," Regina mused, eyes twinkling. "I thought you liked being collared."

"Damn it, Regina," Emma mumbled, trying and failing to stop her blush. Regina knew her buttons far too well, and collars were one of the big ones. The only reason she hadn't been stuck in her own bed – or Regina's for that matter – the whole morning was that the surprise of not being able to get the collar off for breakfast with her parents outweighed the rapidly growing heat between her legs. "Look, I– you know I do. But just picture my parents finding out about this. You'll get the blame, and then there'll be an angry mob with them up front before you know it."

"I see." Regina's eyes hardened, and Emma could practically feel the temperature in the room dropping several degrees. "Indeed they will. I'm sure they will be happy to accept whatever explanation you'll come up with." Even after a time of relative peace between her and Emma, Regina's mistrust of the Charming's and their daughter still decided to rear its head now and again.

"What? No, no I didn't mean it like that," Emma exclaimed, scooting closer to Regina and taking her hand in her own. "I'd be the first one to tell them it was my spell. Hell, for once I actually even cast the whole spell myself, _without_ any help from you. I'm not trying to blackmail you, Regina. I'm just... we both know they won't believe me. Henry might not even believe me. We need to keep this between us for now. Okay?"

Regina's expression softened from hearing Emma's reassurances. "Okay." She sometimes felt it was eerie just how easily Emma could put her fears to rest, even if she was the one who awoke them in the first place.

Looking relieved, Emma nodded. "Good. Now, you said someone managed to extract the, uh, essence stuff from the artifact? You think we could do that?"

"You surprise me, Miss Swan," Regina said, giving her a look of mock astonishment. "You actually listened to my explanation and remembered parts of it."

She was rewarded with an exaggerated roll of Emma's eyes.

"Now, if you actually listened every time I tried to teach you about magic, that would be truly amazing. Perhaps we wouldn't even be in this situation," she added with a cocked eyebrow. "Or, for that matter, if we actually practised magic during our magic lessons that your parents so graciously allow."

"I suppose," Emma mumbled.

"But that's for another time. Right now we need to look through my library to see if there's anything about this purported magician that was able to disenchant the artifact."

 

* * *

 

Books were a menace, Emma decided. After a few hours searching through book after book from Regina's collection, she was bored out of her mind. Regina's old books were fragile and dusty, had more or less illegible text and _no damn search function_. Seriously. She had to talk to Regina about digitizing them. Maybe Belle could help with some fancy tech from the library.

One a more positive note, it did give Emma a rather unique chance to simply sit in peace next to Regina, an opportunity that didn't show itself too often. Their encounters were usually far more... heated. Now, Regina looked so peaceful, so impossibly normal when she sat there next to Emma on the sofa, face set in a tiny frown as she read through book after book. It was hard not to stare.

Or more precisely, it was harder than usual not to stare. Emma's eyes always appeared to have a natural affinity to finding their way back to Regina if she let go and let them do as they pleased. Regina, of course, had quickly noticed it and exploited it to the fullest. One of the more trying things she'd come up with for their so-called magic lessons was surprisingly devious despite its simplicity: Emma wasn't allowed to watch Regina. She had to sit still without anything to do, face and body turned towards Regina without looking at her, not a single stolen glance. For Emma, who'd rather take action than take it slow, this was incredibly frustrating. And arousing.

_And damn, the reward was worth it,_ Emma thought, licking her lips unconsciously, eyes still lingering on the woman next to her.

"Focus, Miss Swan."

Regina hadn't even bothered to look up, of course. She was much to used to sensing Emma's stares to actually have to look up for confirmation.

Emma was just about to form some witty response when he phone went off, piercing the peace and quiet with a shrill tune that made Regina wince.

"Yeah? Oh hey Sn– mom. Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry I bailed on you, I just had some, uh, ideas and stuff for the magic lessons with Regina–"

Emma had to pull the phone away from her ear; even Regina could hear Snow's indignant voice blasting through the speaker.

"Yeah mom, I went to Regina's. I'm still here. I know– yeah... right. Look, you're not going to convince me this time just as you haven't the last times, 'kay? I haven't been turned into a toad or killed or whatever and I don't see that happening. No, I don't."

A barely visible smile tugged on Regina's lips. Even though she'd heard it many times before, the sound of Emma's defense of her still warmed something inside her.

"Yeah... mhm. What? Well, uh, we're... practising, magic and stuff." She shot Regina a quick glance. "Sure I'll come home, later. Oh, that's, I mean, you really don't– just.... fine, fine, okay. You can pick me up later if you really want to." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "No mom, we're _still_ sharing him, and it's Regina's week so bring him over when you come. Yeah. Bye."

Regina cocked an eyebrow, her expression turning a little more devious. "Are your parents coming over to rescue you from the dangerous witch?"

"Ugh, yeah. And I can't believe Mom's still arguing about where Henry's living," Emma muttered. "They'll come over with him when he and David returns from their camping trip."

"Lovely."

"And anyway, technically I'm a witch too." She frowned. "Why are you smirking?"

"Oh, nothing." Regina failed miserably at her attempt at looking innocent. 

"My parents are coming over and you–" Realization hit her and she narrowed her eyes, pulling up her finger and waggling it at Regina. "No. No no no, absolutely not. You're not using the spell when my parents are here."

"I don't know what you think would happen, dear, they won't even come inside," Regina drawled, her voice distant and airy.

Emma chuckled cynically. "Right. You have the perfect opportunity to mess with Snow and you wouldn't take it."

"Well, when you put it like that; I do like to have a little fun now and then."

"No making me do stuff I wouldn't do!" Emma waved her finger empathetically.

Regina's grin was wide and unrepentant. "I make no promises."

"Regina," Emma whined, dragging out the last vowel.

"I promise I won't let them find out about the spell and I won't show them your collar."

"Why don't I feel reassured by that."

"Don't be such a downer, dear. I'm sure it'll be enjoyable."

"Oh, that's why. You're meeting my parents and you're _happy_."

"Don't worry, dear. I'll be discrete," Regina murmured, before hooking a finger under Emma's collar and yanking her close. "Don't try to pretend that you don't enjoy this almost as much as I do, Miss Swan," she purred, her lips less than an inch from Emma's ear.

"I really thought I'd gotten past 'Miss Swan'," Emma croaked, her breathing shallow. All her focus on the embarrasment of walking outside and her parents finding out rapidly evaporated as the feeling of Regina pulling her collar took over all her conscious thoughts.

"You've forgotten, haven't you? Well, I suppose I should've guessed as much," Regina chuckled, ghosting her lips over Emma's ear and receiving a choked whimper in return. She leaned down, biting hard on Emma's shoulder before pulling back up and turning Emma's flushed face towards her with a grip on her chin.

Emma's eyes were wide and dark from lust, and a part of Regina wanted to drag her up to the bedroom and fuck her until they both were sweaty and panting. But alas, they had more important things to do.

"'Emma' is for when you've been a good girl. 'Miss Swan' is for when you've been bad." She gave Emma a dangerous smile. "And you've definitely been bad, Miss Swan."

Emma swallowed hard. "At least my messed up spell tied me to you, right? Better than, uh, Hook maybe, or Leroy–"

With a swift pull on Emma's collar, Regina mashed their lips together for a deep, scorching kiss that left them both breathless.

"You're _mine_ , Miss Swan, no matter what spells you manage to cast," Regina murmured, her dark brown eyes boring into Emma's. "Don't you ever forget that."

Placing a chaste kiss on Emma's flushed lips, Regina then scooted back to her previous place among her books and gave Emma a pointed look. "Don't pout, dear, we'll have plenty of time for that later. _After_ we figure out how to reverse your spell."

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed by far too quickly for both Emma and Regina. They ate a quick lunch and dinner, not wanting to waste any more time. Still, nothing particularly useful had come up by the time knocks were heard on the front door.

Emma groaned, putting her sweater back on and making sure there was no chance of anyone seeing her collar. She was stiff, tired and frustrated and was in no mood to get lectured about her spending time with Regina.

"Fine, let's get this over with," she muttered, heading for the door.

"Before you go, dear," Regina smiled just before she opened, handing Emma one of her infamous, dark red apples.

Emma frowned, looking from the apple to Regina and back.

"Just something for the road." The mischievous glint in Regina's eyes did nothing to calm Emma's nerves.

Wasting no time, Regina opened the door and was greeted by one tired but smiling Henry and two uncomfortable looking grandparents.

"Hey Mom!" Henry exclaimed, throwing himself at Regina for a quick hug. After Neverland he agreed to living with both his mothers, switching homes every week, and seeing how Regina genuinely worked to redeem herself, he gradually warmed up to her to the point of Regina sometimes forgetting that he still actually knew about her dark past.

Needless to say, Snow and David wasn't happy with any part of that arrangement, and made sure to point it out to all involved (and many who weren't) on a regular basis.

"Hello dear," Regina murmured, loving her and her son's thawing relationship. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, it was great!" He tried to stifle a yawn, but was clearly excited nonetheless.

"Wonderful. You can tell me all about it after I've seen Miss Swan off," she said with a warm smile. "Now go get ready for bed, it's late and you've got school tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye Ma," he said, giving Emma a quick hug as well before making his way inside. "G'night Grams and Gramps."

Snow and David said their goodnights to Henry before turning back to Emma and Regina.

"Hello Regina," Snow said, at least attempting to be polite.

"Welcome dear. How nice of you to drive all the way here to pick Emma up. She must quite tired after today," she said, giving Snow one of her patented fake politician smiles.

Emma furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering what Regina meant. They'd just read books all day. Sure, she was a little tired from sitting still but that was nothing some fresh air wouldn't fix.

And why was Regina suddenly all touchy-feely, nudging Emma's hand with her own? She didn't usually touch Emma like that outside the bedroom, _especially_ not in front of her parents. Wait, touch?

_Oh, right. Shit,_ Emma thought as a strange, warm presence filled her mind. All warring thoughts were removed in favor of doing what the presence wanted her to do. So easy, so simple.

"Why, what did you do?" Snow asked sharply, still polite enough to omit the "to her". David crossed his arms beside her, preparing for another confrontation.

"Relax Mom, it's fine. We did some magic and worked in the garden," Emma reassured them.

David gave his daughter a curious look. " _You_ were gardening?"

"Hey, not everything I do with plants involves a chainsaw! In fact, I'm trying to fix her tree," she added casually.

"You what?" Snow exclaimed, her eyes widening as she spotted the apple in Emma's hand.

"It's a nice tree," Emma shrugged, taking a large bite out of the apple. "Her fwuit tashtesh really good, ya know."

David's eyes were practically outside his head by now, and Snow looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. _Perhaps fainting runs in the family,_ Regina mused.

"What?" Snow almost shrieked.

"I shaid," Emma swallowed, "I said the fruits are really tasty. The apples." Emma stared blankly at her parents, taking another bite of the blood red apple.

"Well," Regina smoothly interjected, "after this lovely conversation I'm sure we're all tired, and I have a son to put to bed." It was growing more and more difficult for her not to laugh openly at the two idiots' dumbfounded expressions, and she really didn't want to spoil the moment. "Good night and safe journey home," she added with a – surprisingly enough – genuine smile for the Charmings.

"Y-yes, of course," Snow stuttered, still staring at her daughter with open horror. "We'll be going then." She turned on her heel and she and David quickly made their way back to the car.

Stepping away from Regina to follow her parents, Emma's mind was once again her own, devoid of that invading presence. She stopped mid-bite, unsure of what to do, or if she'd survive the trip home if she kept the apple. Oh well, the damage was most likely already done.

"And it really _is_ a tasty apple," she mumbled, nodding to herself absentmindedly.

"Did you say something, honey?" Snow asked with an entirely unbelievable smile plastered on her face.

_Shit._

"Oh, nothing. Just... nothing," Emma mumbled, her expression darkening by the second. This was going to be a long ride home.

The last thing Regina saw before heading back inside was Emma turning around and mouthing _I'm going to kill you_ with a spiteful scowl. It took all of her self control not to break down in laughter right there and then.

It wasn't until Regina'd firmly closed the door that she completely lost it, laughing more and louder than she'd done in a very long time.


	3. What a Wonderful Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got a little longer than I'd expected. Still haven't figured out how long I want to try to keep the chapters, but I guess most will end up around 3-4k or so.
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you'll enjoy it :)

The split second before lightning hits you. Standing inside the eye of a tropical cyclone. Watching an incoming tsunami as it's about to slam into you. Seconds left on a timed nuclear bomb, lying a few feet away.

Emma's attempts at comparing the atmosphere in the car with various kinds of horrible disasters to distract her did sadly nothing to calm her nerves. At best, the ride home would be uncomfortable, at worst... Emma really didn't want to think about that.

"So," Snow began, her voice so insincerely chipper and carefree that Emma wondered just how painful throwing herself out of a moving car would be. More than the impending conversation? Doubtful. "You and Regina looked like you were... getting along."

"Yup. We uh, we're doing it for Henry." Maybe she could try to faint again? Then Snow would be too busy fussing over her health to care about Regina. Although, the more likely result would be that they blamed the fainting on Regina and turned back to deal with her once and for all. Bad idea.

"Of course, that's great. Henry must be very happy." Snow managed to sound happy and in immense pain at the same time. "His parents not fighting, I mean. Say, have you talked to Neal recently?"

Emma groaned internally. Every fucking time. "Yeah, he and Henry was out doing something. Manly bonding or whatever. I didn't really listen; Regina took care of the details."

"I'm sure he would've loved if you'd joined them," Snow said, turning around with that irritatingly angelic smile she used when talking about True Love, David or Emma's love life.

"Sure, but I've got no interest in him," she shrugged. "He's in my life 'cause this is a tiny town and Henry wants to know him. So I'm being civil."

Snow's smile faltered and she turned back with quiet huff. "You sure looked more than 'civil' with Regina back there."

"We get along," Emma said noncommitally, wondering just how much her parents had figured out about her relationship with Regina. Sure, she was over there a lot, but that was – at least as far as everyone else knew – only for magic practise. And the occasional family dinner with Henry. 

_Family dinner. Right. That might be a little suspicious if we're supposed to be an angry glance away from tearing each other apart._

Snow cleared her throat, exchanging a serious look with David, before turning back around towards Emma. "Emma, sweety, when we allowed you to practise magic with Regina, we didn't think it would lead to, ah, something like this." Her face was filled with concern. "I know you think you're being discrete, but we're your parents. We know these things." David nodded his assent, not taking his eyes from the road.

"I–" Emma started, a sense of dread creeping up her spine.

"We know about your relationship with Regina, Emma, and we're worried."

 _They know. Shit, shit shit shit._ Of all the things she didn't want to talk about in a cramped car with her parents, this was right up on the top. _How much do they know? And how the hell do I explain to my parents that I like to be–_

"I know you're smart and not our baby girl anymore," Snow said with a watery smile, "but you don't know her like we do. Being friends with the Evil Queen only leads to darkness and danger, and we–"

_Wait, what. Friends?_

"You think we're friends?" Emma blurted out, not sure if she should be happy that it was all they know or frightened by the huge clusterfuck she was going to be in when her parents found out exactly how good of friends she and Regina were.

"It's really obvious, even though we know you try to hide it," David spoke up from the driver's seat. "Especially today."

At the mention of the interaction with Regina when they came to pick up Emma, Snow looked like she was going to be sick, but thankfully she didn't mention Emma's apple.

"I– _we_ think you should stop the lessons with Regina." Snow declared. "We'll speak with Mother Superior first thing in the morning, and–"

"No."

"But Emma–"

Rolling her eyes, Emma crossed her arms. "I said no. I'm not going to cut off all contact with Regina just because we're finally able to be in the same room without killing each other. I mean, most people would consider that a _good_ thing. Especially for Henry," she added, knowing he was the best way to win an argument with her parents.

"Of course, but you have to understand that she–"

"–haven't hurt or threatened me since Neverland. Besides, Mother Superior uses fairy magic, and technically I'm a witch, so it makes sense to have Regina teach me."

"But–"

"Look, this discussion is over. I'm not breaking up– uh, ending my friendship with Regina and I'm not stopping the lessons. You know as well as I that it's best for Henry if we're on good terms and if I can control my powers." She made a mental note to thank her son some day for all the ways she had been able to use him to justify hanging out with Regina.

Snow huffed, her mouth a thin line, but didn't press the issue.

 

* * *

 

Breakfast the next day was tense, to say the least. It was almost a good thing in a way, Emma figured, since that meant that none of her parent's would be interested in her choice of clothes. More precisely, they wouldn't ask why she was still wearing the same turtleneck from yesterday. She thought David gave her an odd look now and again when they ate, but he kept quiet just like Snow.

The sheriff's station was just as quiet but magnitudes more peaceful. With David out on patrol, the only thing that could bother her was the looming pile of unfinished paperwork and of course leather band around her neck. It was amazing just how much such a small item could tug at her attention, as she breathed and stretched and swallowed and existed. Her free hand was always fiddling with it as best it could with the turtleneck still on. The only reason she hadn't torn it off the first thing she did – it wasn't like she needed it to keep warm, if anything she was too warm – was because of the risk of someone coming in unannounced and seeing it. That risk outweighed every discomfort she could think of.

Lunch time finally arrived after hours and hours of slow paperwork and endless boredom. Just as Emma was on her way out the door, her phone pinged with a text from Regina:

**Would you like to join me for lunch in my office? I just got swamped in paperwork.**

**Sounds like the last few hours for me. You want the usual from Grannys?**

**That'd be wonderful. Thank you.**

Emma smiled wistfully at their short exchange. Just looking at their text conversation, one could almost think that Regina was a somewhat boring, regular small town mayor. Such a ridiculous thought.

 

* * *

 

Everyone was watching her. Emma knew it. She could _feel_ it. A part of her wanted to run – no, more like hide, preferrably with Regina – but she knew it wasn't a viable option. She sighed. Sometimes she really loathed living in small town where everyone knew everything and in particular knew that she almost never wore turtletops, and certainly not in these temperatures.

Bracing herself with her best Regina-inspired _I'm-a-badass-so-don't-even-think-about-approaching-me_ look, she entered Granny's and sat down at the most remote table. With a little luck, Ruby would be busy with other customers and wouldn't have time to pry (or sniff).

Not surprisingly, her luck was still painfully missing.

"Hey Emma, what can I get you," Ruby greeted her, sunny as always. Then, as soon as she'd spoken, her eyes flitted over to Emma's torso, then neck, and her grin grew a smidge more toothy, more predatory.

"Grilled cheese and a coffee," Emma grunted, her own mood dropping already. "And Regina's usual salad." If Ruby got wind of this, Emma would be in big trouble.

Ruby's response came a split second too late, her grin still wide and knowing. "Coming riiiight up," she sing-songed.

Waiting on her food, Emma had to physically restrain her hands to stop them from fiddling with the collar. They came as high as her collarbones a few times, but she managed to make it fairly convincing that she simply needed to scratch her nose. Or her ear. Or her chin.

"There you go." Ruby, out of nowhere, put down a plate in front of her and plopped down on the seat opposite her. "Have you got rashes?"

"What?" Emma frowned. "Oh, that? I, uh, no, I just–"

"You were scratching your face a lot," Ruby mentioned with a shrug, "but anyway. How's it going? We haven't talked in a while."

"It's fine," she responded warily, unsure of what to make of Ruby's toothy grin she seemed incapable of wiping off. "Henry's fine, Regina and I get along and I'm, you know, sheriffing and stuff. Not much going on."

"You and Regina not trying to piss each other off, huh?" She leaned closer, whispering conspiratorically, "some of us actually had a betting pool going on how long your 'truce' would hold."

"How's that working out for you," Emma muttered, trying far too hard to focus on injesting her food as quickly as possibly without having to visit the hospital to bother caring about the gambling or her being the target of it.

"A lot of people lost money the first few months," Ruby's grin grew, "but I'm still in the game. I had a feeling that you two would work something out."

Emma looked up at her, an eyebrow cocked, but Ruby didn't elaborate so she turned back to her grilled cheese.

"Let me take get for you," Ruby said when Emma had finished, managing to bump the plate she grabbed into Emma's coffee cup, the remaining coffee spilling all over Emma's upper body.

"Crap crap crap, I'm so sorry," Ruby mumbled, putting the plate down and wiping off the worst of the coffee with some paper napkins. "I'm really sorry, you okay?"

"I uh, yeah, it wasn't too hot or anything. Don't think it even went through my shirt," Emma muttered, drying herself off as best she could.

"Oh, okay. Good." Grabbing her hand, Ruby practically started dragging her off towards the back of the diner. "Come on, I'm sure I've got a spare shirt somewhere in the back."

"You really don't have to," Emma tried, in no mood of taking her shirt off in front of a werewolf that was far too nosy for her own good. "I'll be fine–"

"Seriously Emma, you can't go around like that," she chided with a friendly smirk, making a gesture at Emma's torso. The brown liquid was extremely obvious to anyone who even shot a passing glance at her, and it was in the middle of the day and she had to get to Regina's office. _Shit._

"We have other customer's, you know," Granny muttered when Ruby swooped past, Emma close behind.

"Yeah, I'll be right out, Granny," came Ruby's response as she pulled Emma in with her out of sight from the rest of the diner.

"So... thanks Rubes, I'll just... take this off then, so you can get back to work now." Emma made no move to touch her shirt.

"Any second now would be great, Em," Ruby responded, her grin back to full predator-mode, wide and toothy and losing all pretense of innocense.

"I _can_ take off my shirt without your supervision," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh? Don't want to take it off in my presence, huh? You're prude all of a sudden?" she teased. "Or are you hiding something?"

Emma could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, swallowing hard as uninvited thoughts of Regina and a certain neck accessory came flashed in her mind.

"You are!" Ruby gasped, giggling loudly, "you totally are. Should've figured the Queen would mark her territory."

"I thought that was more your thing," Emma said through clenched teeth, but Ruby remained unfazed. She frowned. "And how the hell do you know– I mean, I– why do you think–"

"You're not _that_ subtle. And you two practically reek of each other when you come to the diner." At Emma's confused expression, she cocked her head to the side and tapped her nose. "Werewolf, remember? Now, get that thing off and I'll find you something else to wear."

"Not when you're here," Emma insisted.

"You take off your shirt, and I'll get you something to wear. That's the deal," Ruby grinned.

"You sound like Mr. Gold," Emma muttered. "But fine. On one condition." She fixed Ruby's eyes with her own, channeling every ounce of Regina's murderous gazes as she could. "You don't speak of this to _anyone_. Got it? Not Granny, Snow, friendly woodland creatures, no one. Or you'll get two pissed off witches on your ass."

"Deal. Not breathing a word of this to anyone."

Still hesitating, Emma fiddled with the hem of her shirt, trying to ignore Ruby's lecherous expression. Finally, she gave up debating it and just tore the shirt off, tossing it aside.

Ruby blinked. Everything was quiet for what felt like an eternity to Emma.

And then Ruby started giggling. And giggling a _lot_.

"I'm– I'm not," Ruby managed to get out before bending double in another giggle fit. "It's– oh god," she gasped between laughs.

"Really, Rubes?"

Ruby was still giggling. Or laughing. It wasn't entirely clear.

"It's not that funny," Emma deadpanned.

"I'm just, it's– your look is _priceless_ ," Ruby squealed between giggles, wiping away a few tears from her laughter. "Oh man," she sighed, still chuckling. "I... wow. I'm not judging you or anything, you just looked _hilarious_. The blush, and– and the collar and _damn_ , your _face_."

"I'm glad someone's having fun."

"She actually got you collared!" Ruby wispered, trying to keep down the laughter that kept bubbling up. "I wouldn't have expected that from you. And to get you to wear it outside... She's really got you whipped, huh?"

Emma groaned, torn between a splitting headache and hysterically laughing at the sheer insanity of the situation. "Just get me something to cover it with."

"Oh, right, got to bring lunch to the missus, eh?" she nodded with a wink. "I'll get a scarf – be right back!"

Just as Ruby returned, the door flew up and a less than pleased Granny popped her head in. "Ruby!" Emma had just enough time to snatch the scarf from Ruby and hide the collar before Granny saw her. 

"Oh please. A few bites on the neck is nothing I haven't seen before," Granny huffed with dismissive hand gesture and shot a pointed look at Ruby who, to her credit, did sport a faint blush. "Now you get your butt out here right away, there are customers here."

"Be there in a minute Granny!" Ruby flashed a smile, nodding at Emma. "Just had to take care of a little clothing emergency."

Granny shook her head, scoffing. "Poke around in others' business on your free hours, not when you're working. Besides, what Emma and Regina are doing is none of our business, and I'd like to keep it that way." With a last disgruntled look at both women, she left.

"She knows about it too?" Emma groaned. 

"About you two lovebirds?" Ruby chuckled. "Well duh, her senses of smell is almost as good as mine."

"Werewolves," Emma muttered disdainfully, making sure her scarf was secure and showed no hint of the collar underneath.

"Don't worry, she won't tell anyone," Ruby reassured her. "In fact, she stopped me several times from asking you about it."

"'Asking'. Yeah right," Emma snorted. "More like 'relentlessly teasing'."

Ruby simply shrugged, as carefree as ever. "Not my fault you're so fun to tease."

"And remember, not a word." Emma hissed as she went back out to the diner, waving a threatening finger in Ruby's face. "Not a single word."

"Have fun," Ruby grinned when Emma opened the door to leave, her wink and salacious smile leaving no doubts on what she meant.

 

* * *

 

If Emma felt exposed when wearing the turtleneck, it was nothing compared to the nakedness of covering her collar with a scarf. To be fair, it was a nice looking scarf, but that didn't change the fact that it was an even more glaring example of a change in clothing choice on her part, which all the town's gossipy busybodies were sure to notice.

As she walked over to the mayoral office, she promised herself to never use magic again. Or possibly, actually _learn_ magic from Regina instead of having sex during most purported lessons, whichever option had the lowest risk of ever putting her in this kind of situation again.

"The mayor's waiting for you, head right in." Regina's secretary nodded towards the door, barely shooting her a glance, before turning her attention back to her work. Being the sheriff – and on good terms with Regina – she wasn't a particularly unexpected guest in the mayor's office.

"Miss Swan," Regina greeted, a faint smile tugging on her lips. "You managed to find your way over here even later than I usually expect."

"Had a little incident at the diner," Emma grumbled, putting down the bag with Reginas lunch on her desk.

"You're not eating?" Regina asked, noting the lack of another bag.

"Nah, I ate at the diner."

Sighing softly, Regina took a bite of her sallad. "You don't have to sneak around me if you want to have lunch with your mother, dear."

"What? No, I didn't have lunch with her." Emma rubbed the back of her neck, "I'm just... you'd give me that look 'cause I'm not eating a healthy salad like you. So I figured I'd eat my greasy deliciousness over there and then bring your lunch to you."

Regina rolled her eyes. "You certainly don't need to sneak around me just to be able to eat in peace. Besides, I thought you would be used to my reproachful expressions." Her lips quirked up in a smirk. "After all, you're on the receiving end of them quite often."

"Yeah, I know," Emma shrugged. "I'll bring over my own lunch next time, if you want. But really, it's no big deal for me. I like watching you eat." She blinked, brows furrowed. "That sounded weirder than it did in my head. Just, uh, forget that, okay? I had a run-in with Ruby at the diner. That's why I'm wearing this," she said, brushing her hand on the scarf around her neck.

"I see," Regina said, clearly amused. "I was just about to ask you about it."

Emma plopped down in the chair in front of the desk with a loud, disgruntled noise. "She spilled coffee on my shirt. Pretty sure she did it on purpose," she muttered. "And then she pulled me over to the back of the diner and made me take the shirt off. So she knows about the," she gestured vaguely at her neck, "accessory. Not about the spell though. And apparently, she and Granny already knew about us."

"The only surprise to me is that the whole town doesn't know about it already," Regina sniffed. "Those two werewolves aren't especially known for their aversion to spreading rumors."

"Apparently Granny didn't want to get involved and had Ruby keep it on the down low," Emma shrugged, letting silence take over for a while as Regina ate her salad.

"Snow knows about us as well," Emma noted nonchalantly, toying with some papers on the desk. "Shit, are you okay?" she added when Regina started coughing and wheezing.

"I'm fine," Regina croaked, between coughs. "You surprised me. She knows?"

Flashing an unrepentant smile, Emma nodded. "Yup. She and David told me on our incredibly awkward ride home yesterday. They know we're – wait for it – _friends_. And Snow is very concerned."

Regina stared at her, blinking in confusion. "Friends?" When Emma mutely nodded, she shook her head. "Next time you might want to start with that, dear. I'd rather not to die from choking on lettuce."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, I told them not to worry – take a guess at how well that went – and that I definitely wouldn't take up magic lessons with Blue. Speaking of which, have you found out anything new on the spell?"

"Not yet. I do have other things to do besides fixing your little problem, you know." Her smirk was insufferably smug. Emma wasn't sure if she wanted to wipe it off with a punch or her lips.

Emma snorted, getting up from the chair. "Not like anyone really cares about all this paperwork. The only thing the council gives a damn about is if you're trying to blow up the town or kill someone."

"If we don't want your parents' monarchy to start sounding like a good idea, doing things according to the rules is the way to do it, Sheriff. That includes _your_ station's paperwork."

"Yeah yeah," Emma muttered. "I'll get David on it if he isn't busy rescuing kittens from trees or whatever."

Regina gave her a disapproving look, but Emma interrupted her before she had time to respond with a sassy remark.

"Look, I know you've got stuff to do, but isn't there anything I can do to, you know, speed things up?" She moved over to sit on the desk just next to Regina. "Anything?" Her legs was slowly moving against Regina's, jeans touching silk stockings.

When Regina didn't respond, Emma licked her lips. Feeling a little bolder than usual, she scooted over onto Regina's chair, straddling her.

"You're sure there's nothing I could do for you?" she mumbled, her voice low and suggestive and her eyes darting between brown eyes, plump lips and the rest of her gorgeous body.

"Anything, you say," Regina hummed, slipping a finger under Emma's chin and guiding it down to her, tantalizingly close to her own lips. She could see just how aroused Emma was; her pupils wide and dark, her breathing shallow and her lips dry despite the tongue that constantly darted out to lick them.

"Anything," Emma repeated almost inaudibly, her hands running up and down Reginas arms, caressing them gently. "Anything you want."

"I think I know the perfect thing," Regina purred, pulling their lips close enough that they were almost touching, before tilting her head sideways, her lips stopping an inch away from Emma's ear. "I need you..."

Emma moaned softly as Regina's free hand possesively roamed up Emma's thighs, while the other drew meaningless patterns over her collarbones.

"...to finish your paperwork."

The hands withdrew and Regina the Mayor was sitting under Emma now, instead of Regina the Exceptionally Talented Seductress who'd been present seconds earlier.

"Are you serious?" Emma half-growled, her arousal painfully high.

"You said 'anything', dear," Regina responded, a superior smirk tugging on her lips.

They sat still for a few seconds, before Emma, high on arousal and irritation, decided to take matters into her own hands and crashed their lips together in a demanding, messy kiss. When they broke apart, Emma's lips traveled down Regina's throat, over her jawline, back to her delicious lips and over any skin she could reach, accompanied by moans and needy little sounds Regina would deny ever came out of her own mouth. Apparently Emma wasn't the only one a little sexually on edge.

Their kisses slowly turned less frantic and demanding, as some of Emma's frustration melted away. Finally, they broke apart, resting their foreheads together.

"Feeling better now, dear?" Regina murmured, her voice surprisingly caring as she tucked a blond errant lock behind Emma's ear. She'd noticed just how much of a bad mood Emma had been in when she'd arrived, but it was so hard not to tease her when she gave Regina these perfect opportunities. Still, she hoped Emma was at least in a slightly better mood now. And she really did need that paperwork.

Emma grunted something akin to a "yes", and placed a final kiss on Regina's lips. "And I'll do the damn paperwork," she muttered, "but you better keep your end of the bargain and figure something out. I don't care what it takes." With those words, she untangled herself from Regina and stood up on shaky legs, wiping off any possible lipstick on the back of her hand and trying to make herself look like she hadn't just had a heated make out session with the mayor. "See ya."

Regina sighed as the door closed and she was alone again. Finishing the remains of her salad, she found it increasingly difficult to focus on anything but a certain blonde sheriff and her exceptionally talented tongue.


	4. The Shopping List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for the long wait! I'm in the middle of Camp NaNoWriMo which have meant that I've had much less time to write this. I don't expect another update before May, but then I should be able to update more often again.
> 
> In any case, thanks as always to everyone who's read and/or commented. Happy reading!

"You're leaving already?" David asked when Emma was collecting her things a few hours after her little meeting with the Mayor.

"It's a monday evening, David, nothing's going to happen."

"So... see you back home later?" Emma cringed internally at that hopeful tone.

"Yeah, sure," she muttered, dumping a bunch of papers in her bag. Damn paperwork. "Later."

"You're going to Regina, aren't you?" He tried to keep his voice calm and uninterested, but his words alone told Emma that he was quite the opposite. "Look, Emma, I'm not sure what you think–"

"You think armageddon is coming because I'm not rallying up a mob to burn the Evil Queen at the stake, right?" She regretted the words as soon as she'd said them. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Long day."

"I think... your mother and I don't exactly see your relationship the same way. Her history with Regina is much worse than mine," he said diplomatically.

"Sure didn't sound like that back in the car," Emma shot back, crossing her arms.

David winced. "Maybe not. Probably not. But I'm not– I just want what's best for you and Henry. I know nothing we'll say will stop you from seeing her – you're far too like your mother in that way – I just hope you know what you're doing. It wasn't that long ago that you two would have blown up the town if that had been a sure way to get rid of the other. Not literally though," he quickly added, not wanting to allude to his daughter being a potential massmurderer. Or murderer at all for that matter. The metaphore got a little out of hand.

"I know," Emma sighed, dropping her defensive posture. "I wish you could see that she's changed, I really do."

"I'm trying, and I'm not going to bug you about seeing her. Can't promise anything about your mother though," he added with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, thanks Dad," she said, returning his smile. "Well, I'm off. Don't wait up, I'm having dinner at Regina's." At least she hoped she was. She hadn't talked about it with Regina, but she'd much rather be around an annoyed Regina than an annoyed Snow right now.

As soon as she'd left the Sheriff's office, she practically threw her phone up, typing a message.

**Hey can I hide with you tonight?**

Damn, not _tonight_. Damned freudian slips.

**Sry I meant this evening. Gotta be home b4 night. Pls?**

The response came quickly.

**Your spelling is atrocious.**

Emma frowned, the corners of her lips quirking up involuntarily. Always the sassy responses.

**But to answer your question, yes. I think you'd want to be here for this.**

Looking at her phone, Emma wondered just what "this" was. A solution to the spell? One could always hope.

 

* * *

 

"Hey," Emma said when the door on 108 Mifflin Street opened, revealing the Mayor wearing an odd expression.

"You actually arrived fairly quickly, Sheriff. I'm surprised," Regina quipped, stepping aside to let Emma in.

"And I probably broke half the speed limits in the process," Emma muttered, taking off her jacket and fiddling with the scarf.

"I don't think–" Regina begun, just as another woman joined them from the living room.

"Oh, hello Emma," Belle greeted her with a friendly smile, "I haven't seen you in a while."

Emma's hands flew so fast from the scarf that they almost ripped it off in the process. "Yeah, hey. Been a while, yup," Emma nodded fidgeting nervously. She'd hoped for some time alone with Regina, but apparently that was not on the menu.

"I invited Belle here after she graciously agreed to help us with removing the spell," Regina explained.

"You told her about it?" Emma exclaimed, not sounding to happy about it.

Pressing her lips together in a thin line, Regina crossed her arms. "Would you rather want me to seek help from the Blue Fairy? Maybe Mr. Gold would like to assist? Perhaps we could bring in Jefferson and the whole convent while we're at it?"

Emma winced. "Sorry. Yeah, no, I'm... it's been a long day. Keeping Blue and Mr. Gold out of this would be great. Sorry Belle."

"It's alright," Belle assured, "and you can trust me. I won't tell Rumple about this."

"Good," Emma mumbled, kicking off her boots and following Regina into the living room. "So, you found anything yet?"

"Perhaps," Regina said noncomittally. "We still have many books and documents to go through, but with Belle's help I'm certain we'll come up with a solution."

"For the record, I'd love to study some of these texts some other day as well, when we're not in such a hurry," Belle mentioned. "It's a fascinating collection you've got, Regina."

"Thank you, I'm glad you appreciate it," Regina said with a genuine smile. "You're of course welcome to them as much as you like."

Belle practically beamed, both her and Regina completely unaware of the odd stares they got from the third woman in the room. While Emma knew about Belle's and Regina's growing friendship, she hadn't known that they were _this_ friendly; Regina didn't give those kinds of smile to just anyone. Good thing Emma wasn't jealous or anything. Nope, none of that at all.

"Now, however, there is one thing we need before we can continue," Regina turned towards Emma with a predatory smirk.

"What? Uh, no." Emma shook her head emphatically, crossing her arms. "I'm not showing anything." She could've sworn Belle's sudden coughing fit was not as genuine as she tried to make it sound. "I'm not showing _that_."

"It's important that both me and Belle have all the facts about the spell," Regina said in a slitheringly silky tone, "so it would be best if she sees it in action, dear."

Emma took a few hurried steps back, but wasn't quick enough. With one foot still in the air, she felt a soft hand grip her own and her will to back away suddenly fizzled out. Logically, she knew that it had been there in her mind just moments ago, but it simply didn't feel important anymore.

"Good girl," Regina whispered quietly enough that only Emma heard it, sending a delicious shiver travelling down her spine.

It was a very odd feeling, to be only partially able to control her own will, Emma noted. She was fully capable of doing what she wanted _except_ for backing away from Regina or extracting her hand.

Shooting her gentle captor a spiteful look, she grumbled, "you're going to pay for this," but still followed her obediently to stand in front of Belle, who currently studied her like some kind of scientific experiment.

"So you touch her and she feels compelled to do what you want?" Belle asked.

"Not exactly. As long as I touch her, I can manipulate her feeling and urges. Technically, she doesn't _have_ to do anything, she simply _wants_ it more than anything else." Turning to Emma, she asked, "do you want to remove your scarf?"

"Hell no."

"Do you want to remove your hand and have your free will back?"

Emma looked momentarily perplexed, her feelings telling her one thing and her logic telling her something else completely. "...no. I don't. I should, right? But... I just want to hold your hand." She looked down at their joined hands in utter confusion. "It's weird. Really weird. It's like this presence is in my mind, filling different parts of it or whatever." Frowning, she chewed on her lip. "It feels kind of nice, actually."

Blinking, she looked back at Regina. "Hey! You– you made me do that!"

"Do what, dear?" Regina looked like the poster child of innocence.

"Made me say all that stuff right now. I think." She groaned, covering her face with her free hand. "This is giving me a headache."

"I didn't make you say anything that wasn't true though, did I?" Regina said, a little smugly.

Emma grunted, shoving her free hand back in her pocket. "We done yet?"

Regina's smile grew. "Not quite."

"I'm _not_ –" She stopped midsentence, all defiance and irritation draining from her face. Then her hand came up to her neck, pulling off her scarf.

"Oh," Belle said, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "That's... not exactly what I expected. That's the symbol, right?" she asked, to which Regina nodded. "Why is she looking so... out of it, though?"

"Well, right now, all she wants to do is stand here and wait. A few minutes ago, I only took control of parts of her mind. My touch doesn't control her per se, I have to _take_ control of her mind. Either nothing, or a part of it as I did before, or take over her mind completely, like I'm doing now." Regina tilted her head slightly, her lips curving up into an amused smile. "It would be rather awkward if she turned into a zombie everytime I touched her."

Belle nodded, "that makes sense."

As Regina let go of Emma's hand, Emma could for that split second feel her mind coming back to her, to her own control. As much as she enjoyed having it back, she couldn't help but mourn the loss of that foreign presence in her mind. Everything was so warm and so easy. Wasn't this what some people strove for, a complete obliteration of wants and needs? Still, she was glad that she had her own mind back. _Mostly_.

"Regina," she growled, but Regina dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

"Like I said, dear, if you want the best chance to fix this, she needs to know everything I know." She raised an eyebrow at the dark stare Emma shot her way. "And wasn't it easier this way? None of that pesky thinking and worrying."

Emma wanted to physically wipe that smug smile off her face, but she did have a point. A very small point. She huffed, throwing herself down in a chair. "So what's the plan?"

Belle and Regina exchanged a quick look. "Now," Belle explained, "we try to find out what that mage did to undo the spell. And to do that, we'll first have to learn exactly how the spell works, what kinds of magic it uses and so on, so we can undo each individual part of the spell."

"Basically reverse-engineer the spell," Emma summarized, "and then? You'll make a new spell or a potion or a curse or what?"

"We're believe that the mage brewed some kind of liquid to pour over the artifact, so a potion should be sufficient. We wouldn't your True Love come strolling by, undoing all our hard work, would we?"

Emma snorted. "Yeah, can't have that. Anyway, if you don't need my help, I actually have some paperwork to finish."

The look Regina gave her was somewhere between I'm-having-a-stroke and please-have-my-babies.

"What? Don't give me that look. I do paperwork all the time. It's not _that_ weird."

"Of course not, dear."

"I'm just going to... yeah." She huffed and shoved her hands down her pockets, wandering off to the front door to get her paperwork.

 

* * *

 

After Emma's continued insistence they ordered pizza – she even got Regina to eat some – to save precious time before Henry would come home from his playdate with Ava and Nicholas. Emma, despite Regina's scrunched nose and snippy remarks, positioned herself on the floor, her papers sprawled out in front of her while Regina and Belle sat next to each other in the sofa, humming and oohing and whispering like they were the ones on the playdate.

"Yes, I think this will do," Belle mumbled, nodding to herself as she scanned the paper in front of her that she'd been scribbling on throughout the evening. "I think we're done."

Emma's head shot up, eyes and ears perked. "Really?"

Regina looked the paper over herself, nodding as well. "Yes, it should work. Might need a few minor adjustments, but these should be all the ingredients we'll need."

"And we'll be able to find everything? I mean, no cats' yawns or frogwings or anything like that?" Emma asked, feeling hope bubbling up inside.

"No, all the ingredients should be more or less easy to get ahold of. Why don't you read the list yourself, dear." Regina handed the paper over to Emma who started reading it directly.

Half-way through the list, Emma's face was scrunched up in confusion. When she finished it, her eyebrows were at her hairline and she couldn't help chuckling. "Funny."

"I fail to see what's amusing you, Miss Swan," Regina said, cocking an eyebrow.

Emma frowned at Regina's serious expression, eyes flitting over to Belle and meeting a similar expression on her face. "You're serious? About this?"

"We are."

"But..." Emma was at a loss for words. The list was insane. "I don't, I, what– I mean there– there has to be a better way than this?" She looked far more hopeful than she felt. "Right?"

"Well, since we are in a rather unusual situation, there may be another way," Regina mused, tapping a finger against the book in her lap. "But there's a reason to why we didn't mention it."

"Why?"

"Because it's worse than this one."

Emma laughed out loud at that preposterous statement. The list was beyond the concept of "bad", so how could anything be worse? "Yeah, sorry if I'm not convinced. I mean, really. Fairy dust? 'True Love'? Do I need to find a prince or what? And then–"

"The other alternative," Regina cut her off, "is Mr. Gold, me, the Blue Fairy using our magic on you while you're covered in fairy dust and your parents kiss, inside a crop circle at a full moon."

"What the– you're serious?"

"Of course not. That would be ridiculous," Regina huffed, rolling her eyes.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

"Obviously, _crop circles_ don't have any magical significance," Regina remarked as if it was common knowledge.

Emma blinked. "But the rest..."

"I was perfectly serious about the rest."

Belle cleared her throat as Emma buried her head in her hands and groaned. "Besides, the spell casting would take over an hour, all the while Rumple, Regina and Blue would have to touch you to make the spell work. And your parents would have to, um, continue to..."

"Please don't finish that sentence," Emma muttered. "Fine, I get it. Bad idea. But how are we going to get all this?"

Biting her lip not to smile, Regina knew she was enjoying the Savior's misadventures far too much, but she couldn't help it. "I'm afraid that you'll have to get the more... _exclusive_ items on that list by yourself. I doubt the fairies would give me any fairy dust, reformed or not. The Savior on the other hand might easily get what's needed."

Emma sighed. "What about Tink?"

"She isn't on all that good terms with the other fairies as far as I know."

"Fine, I'll figure something out." She looked through the list again. "And what's this 'dread hound powder'? I don't suppose you have some?"

Regina shook her head. "I believe Mr. Gold has some in his possession."

"And he'll give it to me just like that, no questions asked. Sure," Emma muttered dejectedly.

"I doubt he'll even give any to me without asking why," Belle noted. "That's why I suggested to Regina that you don't ask him."

"You know anyone else who's got it then?"

"No." Belle pursed her lips, her expression turning mischievous. "I'm saying you should steal it from him. Just a little bit, you won't need much. He never checks it anyway."

"I should steal it from him," Emma repeated, staring at Belle and Regina with wide, wild eyes. "You're insane. Both of you. Completely lost your minds." She let out a shrill laugh, bordering on hysterical. "But this is the best we've got, right? So, yeah, I'll bribe the nuns and rob Mr. Gold and find a prince, 'cause... yeah, whatever. I need a drink," she muttered, wandering off to the kitchen.

"She's taking this really well," Belle mumbled to Regina as the blonde left the room.

 

* * *

 

"Are you quite done sulking yet?" Regina asked after she'd said goodbye to Belle.

Emma looked up from the list with a pout. "I'm not sulking. _This_ is bullshit."

"I agree, despite the crass wording. Even so, as you said, it's what we've got." She sat down in the sofa next to Emma, smoothing out a few wrinkles on her skirt.

Grumbling, Emma lifted up her legs onto the end of the sofa and plopped her head down in Regina's lap. "I mean, this is _all_ bullshit. This, my magic, my parents, sneaking around Henry and everything."

Regina hummed her agreement, absentmindedly running her fingers through Emma's golden locks.

"We'll have to tell Henry about us soon. He's a smart kid, he's got to know something is different between us. And my parents will figure it out sooner or later."

"I don't think that's something we should discuss right now, Miss Swan," Regina said, her body stiffening slightly and her hand stopping its caressing.

Emma winced, wishing she hadn't brought it up. Even though Regina hadn't actually said anything, she knew Regina wasn't happy with how secretive they'd kept their growing relationship (although none of them would admit that it was any kind of relationship. They preferred the word "arrangement").

"Sorry, I... we'll talk about it after all this is done, okay?" Emma gave what she hoped was an appeasing smile.

"Okay," Regina mumbled, a smile of her own tugging on her lips and resumed stroking Emma's hair.

The silence that filled the room was comfortable and none of them made any effort to break it. They both knew that this wasn't even near anything they usually did when alone together, but it felt too good to point out and possibly disrupt the moment. So they sat quietly, both women trying to figure out what it all meant.

The front door opening and closing finally pulled them out of their thoughts. Emma quickly sat up, reluctantly leaving Regina's comfortable lap.

"That would be Henry," Regina mumbled, brushing off invisible dust from her skirt as she stood up, a little flustered from the oddly intimate moment.

"Yeah." Emma got up a little awkwardly. "I should, uh, probably go." They didn't do intimacy, really. Not this kind, this almost domestic kind. They flirted. They had _sex_. Really hot and often kinky sex. _This_ was completely new and she had no idea how to deal with it.

"Of course," Regina replied with an unconvincing smile.

After another awkward moment, Emma nodded, picking up her paperwork from the floor. Securing her scarf around her neck she walked out to the foyer to greet her son.

"Hi Ma," Henry said, a little surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey there, kid. Magic stuff, you know." It wasn't technically a lie, but it still didn't help her conscience much.

"Oh," he replied, frowning. "I guess that's good. That you're learning to control it, right?"

"Yeah, it's good." She made a mental note to actually have a real magic lesson next time she went over to Regina's. "Wouldn't help anyone if I couldn't control my magic." She shrugged on her jacket and the bag with all the paperwork before pulling on her boots.

When she straightened up again, Henry was looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"What's on your mind, kid?"

He tilted his head, squinting a little. "Are you wearing a collar?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand cliffhanger! As a treat for my lovely readers who've waited far too long for another chapter.
> 
> I made the description of the list deliberately vague so that I would be able to add more required ingredients later on. I've got a few ideas, but suggestions would also be appreciated :)


	5. Suitors, Duels and Flamingos, Oh My!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait! Life outside of the internet messed things up and on top of that this chapter was an absolute horrid mess to write. I had to rewrite it much more than I care to remember. Ugh. In any case, it's finished and as a bonus, it became so big I had to split it up which means that the next chapter is already at least a third done. Hopefully it won't take too long. But yeah, I'm not good with deadlines. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you'll still enjoy it. Thanks for all the kudos and comments, they make my day considerably brighter :)

"What?" Emma blurted out, a hand shooting up to check on her scarf. It was pretty loose, probably having loosened when she had put on her jacket and bag.

_Shit._

"The thing around your neck. It looks like a collar," Henry said, frowning.

"Well... it's not. It's a necklace."

"It still looks like something Pongo would wear. It's a little weird."

"It's a fashion statement," Emma argued, hoping Henry's lie detector wasn't as good as her own.

"But why are you wearing a scarf over it?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is Mom making you wear it? Did you lose a bet or something?"

Emma scoffed. "Please, kid. I know better than to make a bet with Regina. She cheats all the time."

"I do not cheat, Miss Swan!" came the indignant response from the living room.

"Anyway," Emma continued, waving off Regina's objection, "you can't tell anyone about this, okay?"

Henry's expression instantly darkened. "Why?"

Silently, Emma cursed whoever it was that had given Henry his excessive need to know things. _Probably Neal's fault,_ she thought glumly.

"Ah, well, like I said, it's a fashion statement." She licked her lips, buying herself some more time to come up with a plausible story. "And Regina is good at... fashion, so I asked her for help." Henry didn't look convinced. "With, you know, clothes and fashion and stuff. Girl things. And I don't want the, uh, pressure from others before I'm... secure and sure in, ah, my expression of what I wear."

In the silence that followed, Emma could almost swear that she heard faint choked laughs from the living room.

"So..." Henry began, thinking intensely, "basically, you're wearing this for Mom and you don't want anyone else to know?"

"Yes." Emma blinked, eyes widening comically. Wearing the collar _for_ Regina– wait, what? "No! Not like that– or, I mean..." She stopped, mouth agape, unable to form any meaningful sentence. Finally, she sighed in defeat, crossing her arms. "Yeah. I'm wearing it for her," she muttered.

Henry studied her with furrowed brows for a moment or two, before he shrugged. "Fine, whatever."

"Thanks," Emma said with a sigh of relief, although unable to shake the eerie feeling that the explanation had been accepted way too easily. "See you later, kiddo."

 

* * *

 

"Did you know, Killian has been asking for you," Snow mentioned in passing the next day at breakfast.

"Well shit," Emma muttered, taking another bite of her sandwich. 

She had barely gotten any sleep that night, all the pent-up sexual tension from being around Regina driving her absolutely insane. She had gotten off on her own – twice – but neither her hand nor her vibrator was any replacement for Regina. On top of that, the damn collar was a constant reminder, keeping her arousal high as if Regina was slowly rubbing her, all day and all night. To say it was frustrating would be a enormous understatement. Needless to say, she wasn't in the mood for Snow's matchmaking.

"Emma!" Snow chided. "He might be a pirate but he is reformed now. You shouldn't treat him like some kind of criminal."

"Reformed, huh. Kind of sounds like Regina." It came out before she could stop it. Whoops.

Snow's cheeks turned a light shade of red and David mumbled something about his teeth and fled to the bathroom. _Coward,_ Emma thought, glaring daggers at his retreating form.

"I invited him for dinner tomorrow," Snow continued, pointedly ignoring the mention of the mayor, although her tone had gotten a bit strained.

Of course. "Why?"

"So you could see each other, of course," Snow explained, as if it was perfectly natural. "He might be the one, Emma."

"Or he might be a creepy pirate who I want nothing to do with and who won't take a hint if it punched him in the face."

The smile Snow wore was a perfect mix of condescension and mild amusement. "None of that matters if he's your True Love, honey. And really, he isn't all that bad. I'm sure you'd like him if you give him a chance."

David quietly entered the room, only to freeze and quickly turn on his heel and leave again when he saw Emma's expression. Her fingers twitched at the very appealing thought of fireballing his ass. _Maybe later._

"Too bad I won't then. Why don't we let Neal and Hook woo each other and I'd be rid of them both," Emma grumbled.

Snow's arguing filled the air as expected but Emma tuned her out and none too covertly turned her attention to her phone, where a message from Regina was flashing on the screen.

**I need water from the well to start the potion. Bring it to me at lunch and you'll get a treat.**

A treat? Emma licked her lips, quickly typing a response.

**No probs, how much? And what kind of treat? :)**

**Half a gallon should suffice. Be a good girl and you'll find out tonight, Miss Swan.**

"Emma!" Snow was glaring at her indignantly. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Mhm," Emma replied airily, eyes still on her phone.

"As I was saying, if you're going to find your True Love, you'll have to take a few chances. Why not give Neal and Hook a chance? What if you're meant to be together?"

Another text from Regina flashed on Emma's phone.

**You do want to be a good girl for me, don't you?**

Emma bit her lips as she read the text over and over again, memories of husky whispers, a firm hand in her hair, kneeling for her Queen... getting that water seemed like a very attractive option.

"That's great, but I've got to go." Her half-eaten breakfast was a worthy sacrifice to flee from Snow's persistent True Love nagging. 

"Emma!" Snow scolded, hands on her hips. "I told Killian you'll be here when he comes over, so don't let him down." The " _and don't let your mother down_ " was implied with all the subtlety of a flashing neon sign.

Rolling her eyes, Emma shrugged on her jacket. "No promises."

"But–"

" _Bye_ Mom."

Out on the street, she pulled up her phone, and sent a quick message to Regina.

**fuck yes**

 

* * *

 

"I'm never bringing you to a duel again," Emma grunted as David parked the cruiser in front of Granny's.

Tapping his fingers nervously on the steering wheel, David said, "look, I'm sorry, I... I could have handled that better." At least he had the decency to look sheepish. "But he had a valid point. They were in a duel for their honor and that other guy didn't have any right to interfere in a perfectly regular duel."

" _In the Enchanted Forest!_ Come on!" Emma snapped. "He was threatening the cashier with a goddamn saber! Are you kidding me?" She shook her head. "This is the real world, David, and here we don't do duels. From now on, you're not allowed to bring your sword when on duty." David looked like he was about to object but Emma continued. "You attacked an unarmed civilian. And no, 'they're interrupting the duel' isn't a valid reason. So don't even think about arguing."

"Fine," he muttered after a few moments, clearly displeased with the reprimand. He was far too attached to his sword for his own good.

"Good. Oh, and by the way," Emma said, opening the car door, "I still remember this morning. You're on my shitlist," she finished with a menacing finger pointed at her father before exiting the car. "See you around. Try not to start anymore trouble."

Ruby looked up when Emma walked through the door to the diner. "Hi, Emma," she greeted, her face immediately splitting into a wide grin. "Here for lunch? Without the wi–"

" _Nice_ to see you too, Rubes," Emma muttered, shooting her a scathing look. "I just want a cocoa."

"Aww," Ruby giggled, "you even glare like her! That's so cute."

"Would you keep it down?" she hissed, quickly glancing around her to see if anyone heard it. "And I don't glare 'like her'." Damn wolf.

"Whatever you say." Ruby's smile didn't dim the slightest. 

She was so not in the mood for this. "Can it, furball," she grunted and shuffled over to one of the empty booths accompanied by Ruby's gleeful cackling.

That dinner with Hook had really put a dampener on her mood, partly because of the pain of having to deal with his constant innuendos and partly because of her mom's incessant need to "help out" her daughter. Emma was almost thirty, shouldn't she be free from her parents' meddling in her love life? David's shenanigans with the idiots who thought they still lived in the Enchanted Forest didn't help either. At least she'd gotten the water from the well without any trouble.

Ruby came by with her cocoa and thankfully kept quiet. Emma had barely time for a tired smile to form from the lovely scent of the hot liquid until someone sat down across from her.

"Hey, Em." Neal gave her a smile that she couldn't even begin to return. She nearly faceplanted on the table but managed to hold her frustration back. Could this day get any worse?

"Hey."

"So," Neal dragged out the vowel and leaned forward. "We haven't hung out in a while. What's up?"

_Oh, you know, the usual. I'm fucking the mayor, wearing a magical collar and is up for a pseudo-date with Hook tomorrow. How about you?_

Somehow that didn't sound like the best thing to say if she wanted to leave the diner with _less_ of a headache.

"You know, same old," she tried, forcefully pulling up the side of her mouth in an attempt to smile. "Henry's with Regina, I'm sheriffing. Not much new."

His face darkened at the mention of the mayor. "I don't–"

"Not a word, Neal," she gruffly interrupted. "Not in the mood for it. Henry's with Regina and that's final."

"Fine, fine. Anyway, do you want to do something tonight? Maybe dinner, movie, something like that?" He looked so damn hopeful it was almost heartbreaking. Emphasis on "almost". Right now she was far too tired to care.

"Look." She took a long sip from her cocoa and sighed in pleasure. So good. "I know I said I wasn't sure or needed time or whatever–"

"And you'll get all the time you need," he assured her with his goofy grin and irritating stubble and _fuck_ , she really shouldn't have any serious conversations today.

"Well I've had time enough and – since you apparently haven't gotten the memo – I'll put it clearly. 'Us' isn't going to happen. We had something that resulted in Henry ten years ago but that's long gone."

"But..." Neal almost pouted, "I'm your True Love, you're mine and we have Henry."

"You, me and _Regina_ have Henry." Emma corrected. "And who said anything about True Love? Snow?" At Neal's sheepish nod, she groaned. "She doesn't know shit about that. I don't know why everyone thinks she's some kind of guru on True Love. Today she tried pairing me off with Hook."

A pointed cough sounded just before Regina appeared at their table. "Mr. Cassidy, Miss Swan," she greeted them, giving Neal a disapproving look. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"We're having a conversation here," Neal scowled. "Move on."

"Actually, you're the one who needs to leave," she replied, her lips curving up in a smirk. "I'm to have lunch with Miss Swan now."

"You're having lunch with her? What the hell, Em?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Is that why you have been avoiding me? Is she telling you not to see me? You can't–"

" _Mr. Cassidy_ ," Regina snapped. "I don't have time for your nonsense." She eyed him like a bug about to be squashed under her heel. "I can assure you that Miss Swan is fully capable of making her own decisions without help from either of us."

Emma sighed, gritting her teeth. "I'm not under a spell, she's not manipulating me, she's not using Henry as a bargaining chip and I haven't been cursed. We're friends. Anything else?" she finished, taking another sip of her cocoa.

His eyes narrowed and he looked between the two women suspiciously. Then he seemed to realize something and he leaned back, his brows rising to his hairline. "Wait, damn, are you– I mean, no way. But– are you two together?"

"None of your fucking business," Emma snapped, slamming down her cup on the table.

"You've been together a lot, you're not fighting anymore and now it's like you're a team? And the way you two are looking at each other, I mean damn, you got a better excuse?" He looked disgusted at the whole idea. "I can't believe you're with her. What the hell, Em."

"Don't call me that," Emma growled, wishing Regina had taught her more offensive spells. As much as her ex pissed her off right now, the last thing she wanted to do was to set the diner on fire with a misplaced fireball. "I don't have to explain shit to you."

Regina chuckled, a husky sound worthy of the Evil Queen. "I suggest you keep your voice down if you want to leave here unharmed, Mr. Cassidy." She took a step towards him and leaned forward, a menacing grin playing on her lips. "As I'm sure you know, she can be quite... _volatile_ when provoked. And of course, I'm the one who's been training her with magic."

Neal flew out of his seat, outraged. "I won't let you-"

"I don't care what kind of pathetic action you have in mind," Regina dismissed with a careless wave of her hand. "What you need to know is that if you try to go between us, we will come after you and _nothing_ , not even your father or the precious fairies will be able to stop the hell we will put you in." Her toothy grin still hadn't left her lips. "Am I making myself clear?"

Neal visibly blanched, opening his mouth as if to say something but quickly changed his mind when he saw the expression on Emma's face, currently looking like she was moments away from murdering someone. He nodded slowly, awkwardly clearing his throat. "Yeah. Sure. I– I'll just go." He left the diner without another word.

"If we keep this up, the whole damn town will know by the end of the week," Emma muttered with a forlorn look down at her empty cup. She barely even remembered finishing her cocoa.

"He won't bother you again," Regina said with a shrug and took the place Neal had occupied. "And for the record, I didn't confirm his suspicions, so I think I deserve a thank you. Now, what's this about Hook?"

Emma groaned painfully, resting her forehead on the table. "Please don't remind me." She turned her head to the side, peering up at Regina from the table with a pitiful face. "Snow thinks he might be my True Love and invited him for dinner tomorrow. I'm supposed to be there, smiling and batting my eyelashes at him. Yuck."

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it."

"Funny," Emma deadpanned, sitting back up again to search her bag. "Anyway, I got you the water wanted." She handed a bottle of regular looking water to Regina, who accepted and studied it closely.

"Perfect. I'll get started as soon as I get home," Regina said, putting the bottle down on the seat beside her. "And on that note, I hope you haven't forgotten about our little get-together tonight?"

A faint blush colored Emma's cheeks. "Definitely not."

 

* * *

 

The rain was pounding the ground that evening, having grown from a light drizzle starting when Emma and Regina had stepped out of the diner at lunch.

"You look awful," Regina noted when she opened her door for Emma, regarding the completely drenched woman with a raised eyebrow. 

"Don't remind me," Emma muttered and stepped inside, leaving small puddles behind on the floor. "The Bug died halfway here and I had to walk the rest of the way." She shrugged off her jacket and kicked off her boots and wrung out as much water as she could from her hair. Onto the pristine floor. "Sorry about your floor," Emma mumbled with a forlorn look at the now distinctly less than pristine floor.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Swan, this is really nothing. I've seen Henry bring in worse." She scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Try getting drying clay out of an oriental rug. _Without_ magic. Absolutely awful."

"I can imagine," Emma mumbled, although she really couldn't. Regina was looking as perfect as ever, wearing a tight black pencil skirt and a white blouse with a few too many buttons open, not to mention her omnipresent fuck-me heels. Picturing Regina kneeling on the floor, trying to get dirt and clay out of an expensive rug was like Emma imagining herself as a princess in a long, frilly, pink dress. It just didn't work.

"If you pardon my comparison, but you look like a kicked puppy," Regina noted with a raised eyebrow. The Sheriff usually didn't look this tired, not even after braving a huge rainstorm like this one. "No, you actually look more like roadkill. Did someone shoot you?"

"Do I look like I'm bleeding?" Emma huffed with a roll of her eyes. "No, I just had a really, really crappy day. First the shit with Hook and then David's in a duel and then Neil and then it rained and then that damn dwarf," Emma rambled. "I swear, he's got a personal vendetta towards the postman that makes your curse look like a Christmas present. I mean, seriously, where do you even get caltrops in Storybrooke?" She shook her head and then proceeded to take off her sweater. "And then _of course_ the fairies got spooked by some dude in a black car outside the convent and I have to go there 'cause David is rescuing some old lady's cat again. Turns out the dude in the creepy car is an ornithologist who lost his hyper-intelligent flamingo or whatever and drove around all day looking for it." She scoffed, pulling off her socks. "Turns out the damn bird sat on his roof the whole time."

Regina listened quietly as Emma rambled on, seemingly unaware of her increasing lack of clothing. The Sheriff could be so adorably aloof at times. Not that Regina would admit to thinking anything or anyone was adorable though (barring possibly Henry when he was younger), but that certainly didn't stop her from enjoying the show that Emma unknowingly put on.

"And then at the worst possible moment, my car dies." Emma paused, frowning at the increasingly hungry looks Regina was giving her. "Uh, why are you– oh, crap!" She immediately pulled her pants back up, blushing fiercely. "So, uh, can we just forget this, please? I had a shitty day and I have no clue what I'm doing. Really. And where's Henry?" she quickly added, eager to change topic.

Regina's grin was all Evil Queen. "You know I can promise that. Henry is at a sleepover with some friends from school. Did you really think I'd make a mistake like that, Miss Swan?" she huffed. "In any case, I'm fairly certain he suspects something about your collar. Surprisingly, your heartfelt explanations yesterday didn't seem to be enough to convince him."

"I was pressed for time, okay? And I don't think the explanation 'oops I messed up a spell' would have made anything better. He's still a bit suspicious when it comes to my magic."

"Yes, well, your attempt was... admirable," Regina said with a condescending pat on her hand. "Not much we can do about it now, though. We'll start the magic lesson when you're clean and dry."

"Oh, okay." Emma looked down on her soaked clothes and then back at Regina. "I... don't have any extra clothes."

"I have plenty to loan you, dear. Shoo."

Without further ado, Regina flicked her wrist and a cloud of purple smoke enveloped Emma. "Impatient," Emma huffed, finding herself in the main bathroom. She quickly took off the rest of her soaked clothes and got into the shower, sighing happily as the scalding water that flowed over her tired body. It was amazing just how much a good, hot shower could do.

When she finished the shower, a neat stack of clothes lay waiting for her. A pair of black slacks, a gray blouse and underwear that almost looked comfortable. Emma had to admit that she was a bit surprised that Regina hadn't offered a skimpy dress or something distinctly ratty. These actually looked really nice, even though they weren't anything Emma usually would wear.

She padded down the stairs, still fiddling with the last few buttons on her blouse. There was a reason she wore tank tops: no buttons. Easy to put on, easy to get off. 

"Regina?" she called out as the entered the kitchen, but quickly quieted at the sight of Regina crouching in front of the oven. Damn, that woman looked good as a cliche housewife. Then again, she looked insanely hot in just about anything. She'd probably even be able to rock a burlap sack if she tried.

"Just a moment," Regina said as she carefully pulled out a large plate of cookies, inspecting them with a small frown.

"Ooh, you're baking cookies?" Emma went up behind Regina and peered over her shoulder. "Smells delicious."

"They're not for you," Regina said, swatting the Sheriff's hand away. "Granny lent me one of her cookbooks and I'm returning the favor by letting her have the first batch of these cookies."

Emma's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You're trading recipes with Granny? I thought you two were rivals." She shrugged. "If not since the stuff with Snow in the old lands then at least as rival cooks."

"She's a very accomplished cook," Regina pointed out. "And before you ask, no, I'm not giving her my apple turnover recipe."

"A shame." Emma paused, throwing a longing look at the cooling cookies. "You know, that's a lot of cookies..."

"You're not getting any." Throwing a look behind her she saw Emma's growing pout and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you may have a few of them. A _few_."

Emma snickered, always enjoying how well her puppy eyes worked to persuade Regina and reached for the cookies, only to have her hand swatted away again.

"Not yet, you'll burn yourself," Regina chided and hung up her apron. "I swear, sometimes those idiot genes of yours truly show themselves." She gestured Emma to follow her as she left for the living room. "Come now dear, we have a magic lesson to get to."


	6. Fruitful Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Busy times. Finally got the chapter done though.
> 
> Smut alert! The fic finally earns its rating. Regularly scheduled ridiculous shenanigans will most likely resume in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, some people have pointed out that this Emma is something of a pushover. That's completely true, it's how I write her. Lets hope she'll manage to work on some of her issues sooner rather than later, eh?
> 
> Enjoy!

"A magic lesson, huh?" Emma asked, plopping down in one of the sofas.

"Yes." Regina's lips quirked up in a smile as she primly sat down across from Emma." Work hard and you'll get your treat afterwards."

Emma's face immediately split into a wide grin. "Yes, Ma'am." A pause. "Oh, could we do offensive spells this time?"

Regina gave her a look. "Why? Are you planning on using them on someone?"

"Of course not. I mean– not like that." Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, it would be handy to be able to take out a perp or a villain without my gun and _without_ accidentally burning down the neighborhood."

"I doubt the two idiots would approve. Or the moths."

"Yeah, well, they'll just have to deal with it. Besides, it's not like all spells I know are offensive."

"All spells are offensive to your parent, dear," Regina scoffed, then smirked. "But I suppose that's hardly a reason _not_ to teach you." She studied Emma for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Let's try... telekinesis."

Emma's grin was replaced by confusion. "Telekinesis? What, moving around little objects and stuff?"

"And large objects. Including people. When you master it, you'll be able to lift and throw people and things however you want. Now, the important thing here is to learn how to control it, so you don't, for example, throw someone through a wall when you only meant to push them to the ground." Regina held her hand out, palm up, and one of her red apples appeared in it. "Why don't you start by levitating this. Keep it steady." She put down the apple and leaned back, watching Emma closely.

Emma frowned at the apple as she directed her magic at it, willing it to lift from the table. She closed her eyes and let her breathing slow down, focusing on the apple.

"Keep your eyes open."

"What?" Emma asked, blinking owlishly at Regina and then down at the apple which, unsurprisingly, had fallen down as soon as Regina had spoken. "I can focus much better with them closed."

"And you can see much better with them open."

"But–"

"It's a bad habit, Miss Swan, and bad habits are best done away with as quickly as possible," Regina cut her off. "Contrary to popular belief, no matter how hard you train, you will never be able to see through your eyelids." She ignored the eye roll that Emma gave her. "On the other hand, your ability to concentrate and focus your magic _can_ be trained."

"Fine, fine," Emma mumbled. She directed her gaze at the apple after shooting a glance towards Regina. Regina was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap, while her blouse had just one too many undone buttons for it to be proper. Emma could even see a hint of black lace underneath. All the frustration and arousal from the last few days came back with vengeance, making her shift uncomfortably. Staring at the apple, all she could think about was Regina running her lips over it, licking it...

"Focus, Miss Swan," came Regina's scolding.

"I'm trying," she argued, unconsciously rubbing her thighs together.

"Then try _harder_."

Emma huffed, looking anywhere but at Regina. "You're not exactly helping," she accused and then clarified with a vague gesture at Regina's chest. "You could actually use buttons like regular people do, you know." Not that Emma usually minded, but it was practically impossible to focus when her eyes automatically sought out the other woman's cleavage time and time again. It just looked so... inviting.

Regina responded by directing her best _you're-an-idiot_ -stare towards Emma. "Are you the Savior or are you a sex-starved teenage boy?" she snapped, irritation clear in her voice. "If every villain out there has to conform to your clothing standards we might as well just give this up now. The reporters would have a field day: 'Savior of Storybrooke defeated by glimpses of lingerie!'"

"That's not what I meant," Emma huffed. "It's not like I ogle anyone else, anyway." Slouching, she sighed, although what came out sounded distinctly more like a whine. "Can't you just use the spell and, you know, make me _not_ distracted instead?"

"And what do you thing would happen as soon as I stopped touching you?" Emma grumbled, but didn't say anything. "What you need to do, _Miss Swan_ , is to focus on your magic and quit coming up with excuses. Distractions will always be present and you need to learn to deal with them."

Emma sighed. Regina was right, of course. Stumbling around with her eyes closed was a recipe for disaster if she ever had to use her magic against, well, anyone. Accepting that, however, didn't make concentrating any easier with Regina sitting in front of her. Still, she turned her gaze to the shiny red apple on the table in front of her, frowning as she concentrated on her magic. The apple was less steady than before as it hung in the air, but it stayed there despite her distracted mind.

And then Regina unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. And the second. And the third.

"That's not fair," Emma croaked as she strained to keep the apple in air. It dipped down dangerously – mirroring Regina's cleavage – but it stayed airborne. "No one I'll be fighting is going to do that."

"Oh?" Regina's fingers froze and Emma cursed silently, torn between wanting to see more and not wanting to drop the apple. "What if you're after a suspect – let's say a woman, a rather pretty one – and she decides to try to bribe her way out of her troubles? What if she turns out to be a witch?" She lazily let her finger run over the now bared skin on her chest, smirking as she saw how Emma followed her fingers with her eyes. "You have to be prepared, Sheriff."

Snapping her eyes back to the apple, Emma realized it was still in the air despite her lacking concentration. A moment later, it was up again where it had been at first. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Regina unbutton the rest of her blouse, leaving it open but without taking it off. Emma had to bite her lip to stop an embarrassing moan from escaping.

"Why don't we spice things up," Regina suggested, amusement lacing her voice. With a flick of her wrist, another apple appeared on the table. "Levitate that one too, but make sure to keep them both at the same height."

Emma grunted her assent, lifting the other fruit up with her magic. It took a few tries and a lot of work – she could feel beads of sweat forming at her hairline – but she finally managed to get them lined up in the air, both hanging fairly steadily.

Regina let out a little hum – from surprise or satisfaction, Emma couldn't tell – before pulling aside her blouse and fully revealing her bra-clad torso. This time a tiny whine slipped out past Emma's lips as her eyes unwillingly darted over to Regina for a moment. Days of wearing the damn collar, only getting teases and promises instead of a good fucking, it was all bubbling up to the surface. Her clothes were too hot and too restrictive and the collar around her neck made her feel every beat of her heart, each beat reminding her of exactly what Regina could do to her and – _fuck_ – how much she wanted it.

But somehow, she clenched her jaw so hard it felt like her teeth were being pushed into her jawbone and focused on the two apples floating in front of her. It was difficult enough to keep her attention on one apple and off Regina; it was another thing altogether to _split_ her attention on two apples. It seemed easy enough, sure: just do the magic stuff on both apples and boom, they're both up in the air. The problem was, apparently it didn't work like that. She had to focus her magic on both apples separately or they both fell down.

"Nicely done," Regina hummed and cocked her head to the side, a faint smile tugging on her lips. "But do I think you can handle one more." Another apple appeared on the table.

Glaring at Regina's smiling face, Emma leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs and pulled up the third apple with her magic. After a few minutes of trying, she got it to line up with the others. This time, she wasn't surprised when Regina sat up, stretched in a very feline way and then carelessly shrugged off her blouse and threw it aside. Emma's lips felt like sandpaper to her tongue when it darted out to wet them, but she didn't really notice. Her eyes were glued to Regina's form while she somehow managed to keep the three apples suspended in the air at the same time. When Regina sat back in the sofa again – that faint, yet smug smile ever present – Emma swallowed hard and turned back to the apples. 

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there, lost in her mind while focusing her magic, when Regina suddenly stood, a hand on her hip.

"I'm impressed," she said, no sarcasm in her voice, as she gave the apples and then Emma a critical look. "I wasn't sure you'd be able to last this long. You really have improved."

"How long?" Emma asked, her eyes darting between the apples and Regina.

"A little over an hour."

"An _hour_?" Emma exclaimed. It hadn't felt lite nearly that long.

"You were very concentrated, dear," Regina noted, plucking one of the apples out of the air and holding it close to her, smelling it. "But I think this may be a good time to end things." She gave Emma a hooded look, putting down the apple on the table. "I wouldn't want you to get to tired. After all, the night isn't over just yet." With a careless flick of her wrist, the three apples disappeared. She stepped closer to Emma, bent down just a bit and curled a finger around the collar, all the while her smile grew wider and hungrier.

Emma let out a little yelp as Regina tugged on her collar, pulling on it until Emma scrambled to her feet. For a few moments, Emma just stood there, heart racing and her fingers twitching, wondering if Regina would allow her to touch her yet. Despite the fact that they stood less than a foot away from each other, Emma wouldn't take any chances. Not tonight.

Another tug on her collar pulled her even closer, pulling a choked whimper out of her, to her own mortification. Regina just chuckled. "You've been a _very_ good girl tonight, dear," Regina murmured, her dark eyes locked with Emma's. "And so patient. You've wanted to touch me the whole evening, haven't you?"

"Yes," Emma whispered, eyes flitting between Regina's eyes and lips. "More like the last days, really. Ever since I got stuck with this damn collar." A flicker of irritation passed through her mind. Without her stupid spell, she probably could have fucked Regina twice already. Or, more likely, gotten fucked by her. In any case, everything would have been much simpler.

Regina must have seen it, because she chuckled again and placed a soft kiss on Emma's lips. "Don't kid yourself, _pet_ ," she said. "We both know you love your collar." She placed another kiss on the corner of her mouth. "You love how vulnerable it makes you feel." Letting go of the collar, she ripped Emma's blouse open in one swift motion, leaving buttons scattered all over the floor. She placed her hands on Emma's waist, roaming the warm skin and making Emma hum in pleasure. "You love how it reminds you of who you belong to," Regina whispered, leaning in close.

"Please..." Emma whined, her eyes fluttering closed. Her body was on fire and her hands were itching to reach out and touch Regina, to feel all that soft, inviting skin only inches away. But she knew what Regina wanted; she wanted obedience, docility, patience. Things that one would seldom expect from Emma. Times like these, though, Regina would get anything she wanted. And _God_ did it feel good to let her have it.

"How many times have you come to the thought of walking around with your collar visible, hm?" Regina asked as she unbuttoned Emma's slacks. She reached up and cupped Emma's still bra-clad breasts, delighting in the moan that followed. "Everyone would know who you belonged to, pet; everyone would know who _owned you_." She pulled Emma close to her, claiming her mouth in a deep, demanding kiss. Emma offered no resistance, enjoying the submission, thoroughly enjoying being _claimed_.

Unbuttoned, Emma's slacks fell to the floor. She didn't bother to kick them away. All she could think about was the tongue exploring and claiming her mouth, the warm body pressed up to her and – she whimpered again, the sound muffled by Regina's mouth – a hand on her belly, slowly traveling downwards. When they finally broke the kiss, she was panting heavily, clinging onto Regina as if she was the only thing keeping her standing. She hadn't even noticed that she was holding on to Regina. Tearing her eyes open, Emma tossed a quick, worried look at Regina but was relieved to only see a flicker of amusement.

"Don't worry, pet," Regina hummed, "you may touch me."

Emma gasped as Regina's hand went lower, cupping her soaked folds. "Thank y-you," she managed to get out between breaths. Regina moved her hand slowly, up and down, rubbing Emma through the fabric. Not enough to make her come, but well enough to make her knees even weaker than before and make her cling tighter to Regina. Still, she didn't want it to be one-sided, so she bent her neck, running her lips and tongue over the tantalizingly bare skin on Regina's neck and shoulder. The pleased little hum she got in return made her heart flutter and made her kisses even more eager.

Regina slid her free hand up to tangle in Emma's hair before pulling Emma's head back with it, eliciting a little needy whine from her. A split second later, they were both completely naked, their remaining clothes replaced with a lingering scent of magic in the air. "Much better," Regina purred, a smile on her lips even while her eyes were hungry, pupils blown wide from lust. "I could get used to this." She moving her hand from Emma's hair to curl around the collar and then stepped back towards the sofa, pulling Emma along as she sat down.

Emma wasted no time to mount her, bracing her hands on the back of the sofa, straddling Regina's thighs. Chuckling, Regina pulled Emma in for a kiss as she ran her fingers through Emma's warm and wet folds. When she finally pushed two fingers inside her, Emma had to break the kiss to let out a strangled moan. She needed this _so badly_. Regina quickly set a steady pace, thrusting in and out of Emma's pussy while circling her thumb over her clit. Pleasure flooded Emma's whole body, three days of frustration finally about to get released.

Regina's guided her free hand back to Emma's hair, stroking and threading through the long, blond tresses – a strange contrast to the quick pace of the hand that pumped between Emma's legs. "You're such a good girl," Regina murmured, making Emma's insides twitch pleasurably. Although she would never admit it, she loved it when Regina got this... affectionate. It made her feel things. "That time in my office, when you said you'd do anything," Regina paused to capture Emma's lips in a languid kiss. When they broke apart again, she continued, "You meant it, didn't you?" She looked at Emma with warm, dark eyes and all Emma could do was nod frenetically. She _would_ do anything for Regina. The smile she got in return was radiant.

Their lips crashed together again, this time in a much more hurried, needy kiss as Regina picked up the pace between Emma's legs. "Such a good girl," Regina mumbled between kisses, using her free hand to stroke Emma's hair, arms, back, any skin she could reach. Emma's thighs were burning, her arms were shaking and she didn't know if she had any air left in her lungs, but none of that mattered. She felt so good there in Regina's lap, getting caressed like a little girl even though she was getting thoroughly fucked at the same time, her hips rolling in tandem with every thrust by Regina's hand. Memories from her childhood, wishing for someone to take care of her, they mixed with the present and with Regina and it all felt both so good and so perversely, deliciously wrong at the same time.

"Do you want to come, pet?" came Regina's rather breathless voice and Emma nodded.

"Yes, yes please," she whispered, " _God_ yes, please, 'Gina..." She was so close, her whole body shaking and writhing with the need for release.

"You've been so good," Regina hummed and placed a soft kiss on Emma's temple. "Come for me," she mumbled in Emma's ear and ground her palm against Emma's clit. With a long, choked moan, Emma came hard, her hips rolling and twitching uncontrollably as Regina dragged out the orgasm as long as she could, mercilessly stroking her until Emma collapsed in her lap, a sweaty, shivering and panting heap of limbs.

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Emma found herself slowly waking up. Still tired, she blinked blearily at the ceiling while trying to remember where she was and why. Memories of her time with Regina came seeping back into her consciousness and caused a small smile to form. Damn, the night had been good. First getting off in the living room, then being led up the stairs with a finger hooked around her collar... A pleasurable little shiver made its way through her body. It was definitely worth the wait and all the frustration these past days.

Tilting her head to the side, her eyes caught a glimpse of the sky through the window. Her smile turned into a frown as her mind tried to process it. The sky was beginning to brighten, which meant sunrise wasn't far off. Her body tensed and she had to swallow down her first instinct to fly out of the bed and grab her clothes. She had never spent the night at Regina's before and especially not like this. They fucked, that was all they did. Regina wasn't her girlfriend or anything.

Emma winced internally at the thought, or more precisely at the memories of the last time they'd talked about that: about what they were to each other. Regina wanted more, that was obvious, but was Emma ready for it? The old impulse to run was strong, but so was the impulse to stay. She liked what they had. She liked the thought of... more. Maybe. Probably. But was–

"Emma." Regina's horse voice abruptly cut off her thoughts. "Stop thinking before you hurt yourself."

Frowning, Emma began to protest. "I'm not–"

Prying open her eyes, Regina gave her a tired look. "Then go to sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning."

Emma let out a little huff, turning back her gaze to the ceiling. "I just... this is... new."

"Are you planning on leaving right now?"

A beat passed. "No," Emma finally gave in. Coming home in the middle of the night would definitely not help anything, especially when it came to her mother. "I guess not."

"Then sleep," Regina muttered. "You can overwork your brain tomorrow." With that, she turned around, her back facing Emma.

"Fine."

After a few minutes of lying waiting – in vain – for sleep to claim her, Emma huffed and glanced over at Regina's form next to her. If she was going to spend the night, she might as well enjoy herself, right? Scooting over a bit, she snaked a hand over Regina's midriff and pulled her in close, spooning her. The sleepy yet indignant yelp that Regina let out did not deter Emma the slightest.

Snuggling into Regina's smaller frame, Emma sighed, satisfied. It was very comfortable. "Don't worry, 'Gina," she mumbled as she felt her consciousness finally slip away. "Next time, you can be the big spoon."


	7. Apples and Pears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Whoop dee doo.

The following morning was, to Emma's surprise, not all that awkward. If anything, it was eerily domestic in a way that somehow didn't make Emma want to run for the hills. Regina was in a chipper mood, humming as she made pancakes for breakfast and Emma found herself not only enjoying Regina's delicious cooking but also the easy atmosphere between them.

It was with mixed feelings she left the mansion shortly after breakfast, both eager to flex her legs (not to run, she told herself, she wasn't running) and already missing Regina's company. She wasn't stupid enough to think that the thing with Regina was nothing more than sex, but being around her without _any_ kind of sexual motive was still pretty damn strange.

Emma didn't check her cellphone until she was inside the thankfully empty Sheriff's station. Surprising no one, her phone was filled to the brim with increasingly panicked texts from Snow. Groaning, she deleted one after the other. Sure, it was nice to finally have parents but for them to realize that their daughter was a grown woman would have been even better.

It didn't take long for Snow to call, the shrill ring tone perfectly matching what Emma knew her mother would sound like.

_"Emma?"_

"Hi, Mom."

_"You didn't come home last night!"_ Snow practically yelled. Pause. _"We were really worried, sweetie."_

"I said I was going to be late. It just... got later than I thought."

_"Well, I would_ prefer _if you told me before you did something like that again. Your father and I–"_

Hoping to stop the rant before it began, Emma interrupted. "I can take care of myself, Mom. And I've got magic. Besides, do you _really_ want to know everything I do at night?"

_"I'm your mother, why wouldn't I–"_ The line went abruptly silent. _"Emma, last night... did you sleep–"_

_Shit shit shit._ "It was just an example," Emma hurried to explain. "I was at Regina's, practicing magic all night." She winced at how it sounded, hoping against all odds that Snow would just leave it and move on.

_"You were with Regina, the whole night?"_ Snow's voice was oddly flat. Too flat.

"Yes, uh, we did a lot of magic," Emma rambled, groaning internally when she heard what she was saying. She was sure Ruby would have been laughing her ass off by now if she had been the on the other line instead of Snow. "Don't worry, okay? I'm getting better at controlling my magic and that's a good thing, even if it takes a few long nights at Regina's." She snapped her jaw shut, sure that the hole she was digging would only get deeper if she continued talking.

_"Of course. I still don't–"_

Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Sorry Mom, but I've really got to go now. Can't be slacking off on the job, right?" She let out a halfhearted chuckle.

Snow huffed audibly. _"Just remember dinner tonight."_

"Yeah yeah," Emma muttered. "Bye."

 

* * *

 

At lunch, Emma breezed into Regina's office with two paper bags from Granny's, nodding in passing at the mayor's secretary.

"Lunch," she announced, placing the bags on Regina's desk and plopping down in the chair opposite her.

"Already?" Regina looked up with a confused frown. "I could have sworn I had at least another hour," she mumbled as she pulled out the salad from her bag.

"Bad time management, Madame Mayor?" Emma asked, hiding her smirk behind her burger. "That's new. I hope you haven't been too distracted to work."

"Of course not," Regina huffed with an annoyed glare directed at her guest. "I don't let distracting thoughts hinder my work." She paused, working her jaw. "However, that doesn't mean I enjoy the thought of that pirate having dinner with you."

"You're worried about Hook?" She barked out a laugh. "I can't believe you're jealous of him."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Emma leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I figured you'd be pretty relaxed about this, seeing how you've already got me collared and everything." Her smiled widened. "Unless it's the dinner with my parents that you're _really_ jealous about..."

Regina's eyes narrowed, her glare enough to send most of her constituents running for the hills. "If you don't want to be leashed as well, I suggest you change the topic."

Emma nearly choked on her own spit. "N-no, I'm good," she croaked between coughs. She cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to brush it off lightly even as she felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Oh my." Regina cocked her head to the side, her glare turning into interest. "Our dear Savior is even kinkier than I thought." She leaned forward, her lips widening into a dangerous smile. "Collared and leashed. I wonder, is it the bondage or the submission?"

"Regina!" Emma hissed, her cheeks and ears burning. "You know your secretary is like ten feet away?"

"Please," Regina huffed, rolling her eyes. "You don't think she already knows? I didn't hire an idiot, Emma. She's quite observant but she knows what to keep to herself."

"I hope you're right," Emma muttered. The more she found out, the more it felt that the whole town knew about her and Regina.

"Now, I believe I asked you a question."

Emma frowned. "What?"

"Submission or bondage," Regina repeated with a cocked eyebrow. "We've done quite a bit of both but we never talk about it."

"Yeah, well, I don't like to talk about stuff like that." Emma shrugged, taking another bite of her hamburger. "It's... kind of weird."

Regina sighed. "There shouldn't be anything weird about it. Discussing one's preferences with a partner is something everyone should do. In fact, I sometimes wish I had done that more with my previous partners." She waved it away with a flick of her wrist. "But this is not about me; it's about what you would enjoy."

Doing her best not to squirm under Regina's heated gaze, she rubbed her neck. "I know," she mumbled. "It's just weird to talk about it when I'm not _there_ , in the mood, you know?"

"I understand." Regina pursed her lips and gazed at Emma for a few moments, musing over something. "What if you got a treat in the end? For telling me."

"A treat?" Emma perked up, immediately feeling a little ridiculous for being so eager. "Now?"

Regina hummed in agreement. "If you'd like to."

Emma shot a glance at the door. She was still wary of how close Regina's secretary was, but was that enough to turn Regina down? She turned back, licking her lips. Probably not. Besides, despite her reluctance to talk about her taste in bed – she winced internally at the pun – that was more a problem with the _talking_ , not with letting Regina know. "I think so. Yeah." Her heartbeat was already beginning to speed up in anticipation.

"Good." Regina flicked her wrist, a faint shimmer covering the walls as she put up a soundproofing spell. "Now come here."

Emma bounced to her feet, standing at the side of the desk next to Regina's chair before Regina had even had time to turn. 

Regina let out pleased hum, a faint smile pulling on her red lips. "Take off your scarf and kneel, dear."

Palms sweaty and breath shallow, Emma pulled the of scarf off in one swift motion and dropped to her knees, acting completely on instinct. She could already feel her world beginning to shrink, closing in on Regina and what she wanted from her p– from Emma.

"Good girl," Regina murmured, leaning forward to toy with Emma's golden locks. "Now, tell me what you like."

Emma swallowed and ducked her head, unable to meet Regina's eyes as she tried to voice her thoughts.

"Is it the submission?" Regina asked, her voice low, as if talking to a frightened animal.

"Yes," Emma breathed, forcing the word out. "It's nice to," she licked her lips again, trying to keep the momentum up, "to be yours. And not having all that responsibility." She paused, worrying her bottom lip. "And I like making you happy," she finally added, no more than a faint mumble.

A hand curled under her chin and gently but firmly pulled her up as Regina leaned down to capture her lips in a soft, slow kiss.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Regina murmured, her eyes shining. "Perhaps we should do this more often. I'm sure you have plenty more to tell me," she continued as she looped a finger around Emma's collar. "But that's for another day. Right now I promised you a treat." She tugged lightly on the collar. "Would you like that now?"

"Yes," Emma replied, nodding despite the finger that held her steady. "Yes, please."

Regina chuckled and tugged Emma closer, uncrossing her legs and spreading them enough for Emma to fit, her skirt sliding up her thighs as she did. "Lick me, pet."

Emma ran her hands up Regina's legs, grinning when Regina moved her hand to tangle in Emma's hair. She bent forward, pushing Regina's skirt further up to bunch at her waist, before nudging Regina's panties with her nose and giving them a long, slow lick that made Regina quiver.

"Don't drag it out too long today," Regina muttered, pupils blown wide and a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "We do have jobs to get to."

"Yes, Ma'am," Emma hummed in response, wasting no time to pull Regina's panties down, leaving them at her ankles. With another pleased noise she dived in, spreading Regina wide and licking her hungrily, intent on making Regina come completely undone under her tongue.

 

* * *

 

The doorbell rang just as Emma threw one last look at herself in the mirror. Although she had wanted to dress in nothing more than slacks and a blouse – if even that – Snow had insisted on her wearing "something nice" for her weird pseudodate with Hook. What she found when she rifled through her wardrobe, however, was a huge array of jeans and tank tops but very few dresses. She ended up picking the red dress she had worn that day when Henry found her; it looked nice, very nice, but probably not in the way Snow had meant it. Emma smirked at her reflection, feeling like a teenager out to piss off her parents. And damn, was she good at it.

Of course, wearing that particular dress would probably mean having to deal with Hook ogling her the whole night, but dealing with horny assholes was nothing new to her. He wouldn't be getting this close to her again anyway, so it didn't really matter in the long run. When the whole deal with the collar was over, Emma would talk to her parents and tell them about her and Regina, consequences be damned.

To no surprise, Hook's eyes widened measurably when he saw her, his lazy grin making Emma's stomach churn.

"Why hello there, love."

"Hook," Emma said as politely as she could muster.

David, who had been talking to Hook before Emma arrived, patted her on the arm with an encouraging smile. "I'll go see how Snow's doing with dinner." With a nod towards Hook, he left them alone.

"So..." Hook eyed her appreciatively, "this is what you look like when you're all dressed up. Not quite like in the old world, but I can't say I disapprove."

"Good for you," Emma muttered, not bothering to stay nice when it was just the two of them, "because this is a one time thing." She stepped closer, hard eyes boring into Hook's. "Don't think for a second that _I_ wanted you here. This is all–"

"Your mother's doing?" Hook filled in. "I figured as much. Still, I don't think we should waste this kind of–"

"Don't even try," Emma scoffed, "you'll have better luck with David than with me."

The doorbell rang again, interrupting their conversation. 

"Emma?" Snow called out from the kitchen.

"I'll get it," Emma replied, shooting a glowering look at Hook. She stepped over to the door, expecting Neal or maybe a panicked citizen screaming about the latest villain in town. Who she did _not_ expect, however, was Regina.

"Hello, dear," Regina greeted her. When Emma only stared dumbly at her, Regina tutted and swept past her. "Now, now, Sheriff, is that really any way to greet a _friend_?" She emphasized the last word, making sure Snow would hear it.

"Oh, I'm just– what are you–" Seeing the faint shake of Regina's head, Emma abruptly stopped herself. "Where's Henry?" she asked, hoping it was more of a neutral subject.

"At home, alone for the evening. Don't worry, I put a protective barrier around the house and gave him strict instructions not to open for anyone. He'll be perfectly fine."

"Okay." She resisted the urge to squirm – or preen, for that matter – under Regina's gaze, the other woman clearly enjoying the view of Emma's red dress. "So..."

"Regina," Snow interrupted them with a plastered, strained attempt of a smile. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of replying, Regina took off her coat, revealing a black dress that showed even more cleavage than usual. Clearly, she wasn't dressed for a quiet night at home with her son. Smirking, she closed the short distance between her and Emma, brushing their hands together.

"I invited her," Emma blurted out as she felt the now increasingly familiar sensation of Regina taking control of her mind.

"You invited her?" Snow exclaimed, outraged. Quickly realizing how it must have sounded, she did her best to calm down, pulling her unconvincingly friendly mask up again. "Emma, dear," she said in the same voice one used with small children, "this was supposed to be for you and Killian."

"Then why are _you_ here, Mom?"

Snow blinked, eyes shifting between Regina and Emma. "I think I should go check on the food," she mumbled and hurried back to the kitchen.

"I hope you didn't mind," Regina murmured as she let go of her control, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Emma gave a faint smile. "It's fine," she mumbled. "I'm glad you're here, even though she'll be pissed the rest of the night."

"I'm more than happy to help, dear," Regina smiled back. "But I do hope you didn't wear that dress for _him_." She nudged her head towards Hook, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Hell no," Emma laughed. "I actually wore this to piss off Snow."

"Well then, we shouldn't keep her waiting, should we?" With that, Regina strode over to the dinner table with far more grace than necessary, Emma trailing after her.

 

* * *

 

To describe the dinner as "tense" would have been a horrendous understatement. Regina and Hook spent most of their time shooting thinly veiled insults towards each other, covered by fake smiles and laughs that would have been better suited for a horror movie than a family dinner. Meanwhile, Snow did her best to keep the conversation going, often dropping leading questions about Hook's and Emma's True Love with all the subtlety of a lovesick teenager within shouting distance of their favorite boy band.

"So, what do you do for a living, Killian?" Snow asked, straining to keep her mood up and her voice bright.

"Yes, do tell," Regina chimed in, her grin widening. "Capturing fair maidens, perhaps? Scouring the seas for treasure and ships to plunder?"

"Regina!" Snow hissed. "He's not a pirate anymore. He could be a... fisherman, you know." She turned back to Hook with a hopeful smile.

"Fishing isn't quite what I had in mind. The stench of rotting fish has never agreed with me. I have thought about becoming – what do you call it – a deputy sheriff?" His lecherous smile made Emma unconsciously shift closer to Regina. "I'm sure I can do a lot of _good_ for the Sheriff's department."

"I don't think that's–"

"That's wonderful! Helping the poor and vulnerable in Storybrooke," Snow gushed. "That's a wonderful idea. Emma, I really think you should–"

"He can apply just like anyone else," Emma cut her off, stabbing her food with her fork. "No promises."

"But he–"

"I don't think this is the appropriate time to discuss city matters, dear," Regina smoothly cut in.

Snow narrowed her eyes at her. "Well, Regina, _I_ don't think it's all that appropriate for the mayor and the sheriff to be _friends_ like you two."

The silence that followed felt tense enough to spontaneously burst into flames. Snow and Regina seemed to have a staring contest, David did his best to immerse himself in eating, Emma had frozen with her fork half-way to her open mouth and Hook shifted his gaze between Snow, Regina and Emma, looking increasingly confused.

"If that is how you feel, it's well within your power to file a formal complaint with the city council," Regina noted, "while, of course, specifying exactly in what manner you feel our jobs have been impacted by our _friendship_."

"We've both been elected, Mom," Emma added. "If you don't like how we do our jobs, you could just vote us out at the next election."

Snow let out an annoyed huff. "That's not at all what I meant." She looked at David in an attempt to get support but he was still completely immersed in eating his dinner. "I'm just saying, you two being... _friends_ , it might be a conflict of interest." 

"I haven't heard any complaints," Emma muttered.

"Quite the contrary, actually," Regina mused, an smug smile playing on her lips. "Most of my constituents seems to appreciate the amicable relationship between the sheriff and me. And, of course," her smile widened dangerously, "it's much better for Henry when his mothers get along. Don't you agree, dear?"

Snow looked like she had swallowed one of her bird friends. "Of course," she got out, unable to manage anything more than a pained grimace. "As long as it's good for Henry."

Emma almost felt sorry for Snow; using Henry's well-being in a discussion was always a sure way to win any argument in his family.

"Wait," Hook said, brows furrowed in an incredulous expression. "All of this is about you two being friends?" He looked between the three women at the table. "And this was news to someone?"

"Apparently some people hadn't quite realized the _extent_ of our relationship," Regina drawled.

For a moment, Hook just stared back in confusion. Then his eyes lit up in recognition. " _Oh._ "

"I'll go get dessert," Snow muttered and left for the kitchen. Clearing his throat awkwardly, David stood and followed quickly.

"So..." Hook leaned back in his chair, regarding Emma and Regina with a raised brow. "You're _friends_."

Regina's smirk was the only response he got.

Tossing a quick look towards the kitchen where Snow was doing dishes with far too much fervor than was needed, Hook's lips turned up in a smirk mirroring Regina's. "And I suppose our hosts still aren't aware of just how _deep_ your relationship goes, no?"

"Some people catch on faster than others." She curled her hand loosely around Emma's arm, making sure Hook saw it. "And some people should know when it's time to cut their losses and run."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, you can keep your princess," Hook drawled with a crooked grin. "After all, the women in this world seems much easier to bed. Present company excluded, of course."

Emma made a disgusted noise. "Are you two done yet?"

Regina let go of Emma's arm and took a sip from her glass, her eyes staying on Hook. "I would certainly hope so."

"Good," Emma muttered.

A short silence followed before Snow stomped over with a large pie while David cleared the table and set it with dessert plates.

"Looks good, Mom," Emma noted as she took a healthy serving of the pie. Then she frowned. "Wait, is this apple pie?"

" _Pears!_ " Snow snapped, glaring daggers. "They are _pears_."

"I would have given you some of my apples if you had just asked, dear," Regina smiled, taking a piece of pie herself. "It smells delicious though, even if it lacks some of that kick my apples give it."

Snow muttered something inaudible that made David visibly blanch, violently stabbing her cake.

"I'm sure you're more than happy to let Swan enjoy your apples," Hook quipped, his lazy grin ever present.

Chuckling, Regina gave Emma a sultry glance. "Oh, she has quite the appetite for them. Sometimes she can't go a full day without having a taste."

"Really?" Emma hissed, feeling a faint blush beginning to color her cheeks.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, dear. They're _very_ tasty."

Snow's plate split in half with a loud crack, having been stabbed by her spoon one too many times. With a last glowering glare thrown at Regina, she flew off her chair and stomped over to the kitchen, muttering curses under her breath.

"These pears are nice too, of course," Regina called after her, licking off the last of her pie from her spoon in an unsuccessful attempt at hiding her unrepentant grin.


	8. Suspicious Activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit, it's been six months since I updated this last? I did not plan that. Ugh. Real life really did a number on me. 
> 
> In any case, I finally finished this and the next chapter which should be up next week. Thanks for staying with me and with this story. You're all awesome <3

Henry frowned at the page on his desk, having read the same few words at least four times now. He hadn't been able to concentrate all day and the time seemed to be moving at a glacial pace. Emma was hiding something – _again_ – and his mom might have been in on it too and because of it, he had been brooding the past few days. Maybe it was a new cool spell or another relative or something, but whatever it was, he was going to find out.

At the end of class, he lingered until the other kids had left the room before joining Snow at the teacher's desk where she was grading tests.

"Grams?"

Snow looked up, smiling as she saw him. "Henry, did you need something?"

"I'm just..." He hesitated and wondered how he could put it best without freaking out Snow or tipping her off on his – as of yet unnamed – operation. "Have you noticed anything different about Ma recently?"

"About Emma?" Her genuine smile instantly turned into what looked like a painful grimace, although Henry guessed she meant it as a smile, if somewhat _less_ genuine. "What do you mean?"

Henry shrugged, trying his best to ignore the rising sense of dread the back of his mind. His grandmother's reaction was not boding well. "I don't know. She's just been, you know, acting a bit weird lately."

" _I knew it!_ " Snow hissed, slamming her palm down on her desk. Realizing what she did, she cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to smile again. "I mean, I had a _feeling_ something was going on with her. Don't worry about it. I'll get it all sorted out."

"Okay." He paused, a little unsettled by Snow's reaction. "I guess I'll see you later then."

After a goodbye from Snow, he gathered his things and left the classroom, frustrated with the lack of progress and confused by Snow's odd behavior.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Henry," Ruby greeted him when he entered the diner at lunch. "I'll be with you in just a sec." With that, she swooped off to tend to one of the other customers.

Henry sat down at the counter and thought about his strategy. Asking Ruby had better potential for useful information than asking Snow, but the risk that either of his mothers would find out about his investigation was definitely higher. Still, if they learned about it then maybe he could confront them and make them tell him about whatever it was that they were hiding. Either way, he didn't have a lot of options so asking Ruby it was, consequences be damned.

"So, what can I get you?" Ruby asked as she swept back around the counter. "Hot chocolate?"

"I'm actually here to ask about Ma."

Ruby blinked, a wild look flashing in her eyes before her usual, easy smile came back into place. It went by quick enough that Henry almost didn't notice it. _Almost_. "Oh?"

"She's been acting weird the last few days," he said, watching Ruby carefully. "I think she's lying to me again."

"Ah, well, she doesn't necessarily have to be lying, right?" Ruby countered with only a hint of nervousness. "She might just be not telling you something. Maybe something that's not really a big deal or anything. Not that I'm saying she's hiding anything, though," she hurried to explain.

"But why wouldn't she just tell me?" Henry exclaimed, his frustration growing. "Both she and Mom said they wouldn't hide things from me anymore. I'm not a little kid."

"Maybe she's got, you know, _lady_ problems," Ruby tried, giving Henry a pointed look. "Something you definitely don't talk to your teen son about."

Henry scrunched up his face in confusion. "What, like she's pregnant or something?"

Ruby almost choked on her own spit in a sudden fit of laughter. "Nope, she's _definitely_ not pregnant."

"Then why–"

"Look, Henry," she cut him off, leaning towards him on the counter with a serious expression. "I don't know exactly why she's acting strange or whatever, but I know that it's honestly none of your business, okay? It's between Emma and–" She winced and stopped herself before starting anew. "What I'm saying is, if you she's acting weird towards you, talk to her or Regina about it. Just don't go off trying to dig up her secrets. People have them for reasons, you know?" She gave him a wry smile. "Sometimes it's better that way."

Henry huffed, his frown not letting up the slightest. "Fine."

"Good." Ruby nodded and straightened. "Now, can I get you something?"

After he had ordered, Henry replayed the conversation in his mind. This hadn't been too productive either, but at least he had pretty much gotten a confirmation of the fact that Emma _was_ hiding something from him and despite everything that Ruby had said, he was going to find out exactly what it was.

 

* * *

 

Mr. Gold's pawn shop was about as uninviting as Henry remembered it, but it didn't deter him. He wasn't sure what it was that Gold might be able to help him with, but he wouldn't leave any stone unturned. Whatever it was his moms were hiding, he would get to the bottom of it.

"Mr. Gold?" he called out as he closed the door behind him, scanning the room for his grandfather.

"Henry?" Mr. Gold came out from the back of the shop. He squinted at Henry for a moment, a little surprised. "Don't you have school?"

Henry shrugged and leaned against the counter. "Not right now."

"I see. What can I do for you?"

"First of all, you can't tell my moms that I talked to you about this."

Mr. Gold sighed, glancing at his door. "I just got my shop repaired after the last time one of your mothers decided the best way to interact with me was through vandalism and destruction of private property, Henry. I would prefer to stay out of your family's drama."

"Well... you're my grandfather, so technically it's _our_ family. You're already involved." He squinted up at Gold, trying not to look to smug.

"Sadly, that's true," Gold muttered. Then he sighed and picked up one of the trinkets from his counter, polishing it absentmindedly with a small rag. "And I suppose a bit of confidentiality isn't too out of the ordinary."

"Great!" Henry perked up, taking it as all the permission he needed. "They're hiding something from me and I'm trying to find out what."

Gold let out a thoughtful hum, eyeing the trinket in his hand thoughtfully. "And why do you think that?"

"They're acting all weird, sneaking around and lying to me." He huffed and kicked at the ground, frowning at the memory. "Ma's wearing a weird leather necklace and Mom's covering for her and Ruby knows what it is but she won't tell me. I thought Ma might be pregnant but Ruby said she wasn't and then Grandma acted all weird about it like she knew what was going on but she didn't say anything _either_ and she said she would talk to Ma about it but I she treats me like I'm some kid and–"

As Henry droned on, Gold's expression turned from mild interest to confusion to bordering on horror.

"–but Ma hasn't talked about fashion before and definitely not with Mom because they dress completely differently–"

" _Henry_ ," Gold interrupted his never ending rant, "I don't know why any of your mother's would act out of the ordinary and I _certainly_ don't know anything about Miss Swan's fashion sense."

"But she's never–"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you with this." He shook his head as he put away the now shining trinket on one of the shelves. "I may be a part of your family but I have no interest in," he made a vague, sweeping gesture, "whatever – if anything – is going on with your mothers."

"But they're _lying_ to me," Henry practically whined.

"The more reason for me _not_ to get involved," Mr. Gold put it bluntly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

Huffing loudly, Henry turned on his heel and stomped out of the pawn shop, closing the door just a little too hard on his way out. The whole town may be turned against him in one way or another, but he wouldn't be deterred. He had watched enough of The X-Files to know never to give up. The truth was out there, he just had to find it.

 

* * *

 

Snow went home early that day, having already texted David to meet her at the apartment as soon as possible.

"David?" she called out as she closed the door behind her.

"I'm here." He joined her with a concerned expression. "You said there was something about Emma?"

"Yes. Henry came to talk to me after class today. He said that Emma was acting strangely around him."

David's frown deepened. "And you think this..."

"I don't know what it is but if she's being strange in front of Henry I think there's something more going on here that we don't know about. Something that we – and Henry – _should_ know about."

"You think we should talk to her about it?"

Snow sighed and shook her head. "We both know Emma won't admit to anything, especially not with all the time she has been spending with Regina lately." She paused, her lips a thin, hard line. "We should talk to Blue. There might be a spell involved, or a curse or something else. We can't be sure as long as Regina is involved."

"She won't like that," David argued, not looking entirely convinced. "You know how she feels about her private life."

"If something's going on with her, we need to know about it." She took a step closer and took David's hand in her own. "This is for Henry; it's what's best for our family."

Eventually, David relented. "Fine. But if this turns out to be something private, we let her handle it herself. Okay?"

"Okay," Snow smiled in response.

 

* * *

 

"Wait," Snow hissed, grabbing David's arm as they were walking up to the convent a little while later. "Why is Emma here?" She pointed to the woman in question, standing over at a fairly secluded place near the convent and talking quietly to Nova.

"That's odd," David agreed. "Maybe she's here on police business."

"I'm not sure," Snow muttered. It was all feeling more and more shady, this whole thing with Emma. The long hours with Regina, that incident with the apple, the defensiveness, not to mention the whole dinner fiasco with Killian. She pressed her lips together, her thoughts becoming darker by the moment. Regina had something to do with whatever was happening to her daughter, that much was certain.

Soon, Emma said her goodbyes to Nova and hurried away, only to find herself face to face with David and Snow.

"Hi. Didn't expect to see you two here."

"I could say the same thing," Snow replied, her smile a bit strained. "Why were you talking to Nova?"

"Oh, that?" Emma shrugged, her face as blank as it could be. "Just some personal stuff. Nothing to worry about." Her phone suddenly buzzed and she pulled it up, her face falling as she looked at the screen. "Crap. I've got to, okay?"

"We'll see you at home?"

"I've got another magic lesson with Regina, so I'll probably be home for a late dinner."

"Again?" Snow gritted her teeth, a snarl threatening to break out at the easiness that Regina's name was said. "It feels like you're there all the time these days."

"Well, better that I know how to use my magic than not, right? It can be really useful sometimes at work." She glanced a look at her phone as it buzzed again. "Anyway, I'll see you both later. Bye!"

"That was a bit strange," David mumbled, eyes following Emma as she walked over to her cruiser. "She almost seemed a little _too_ casual."

"We can't talk to Blue," Snow declared.

"What?"

"She talked to Nova, David," Snow hissed, pulling him closer for some modicum of privacy. "What if Nova is in on it, working with Regina and Emma? What if–" She abruptly stopped herself, her eyes widening in surprise and worry. "What if the fairies have been cursed again."

"Snow–"

"No, I'm serious!" She huffed and glanced over at the convent. "Regina already did it once and if she's got Emma on her side now, anything is possible. And everyone knows the fairies don't have as much fairy dust as they had in the Enchanted Forest. They're vulnerable and Regina knows it."

David pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a tired sigh. "If we can't trust the fairies, then who can we trust?"

"You're not going to like it."

David looked dumbfounded at first, before the answer finally dawned on him. " _Gold?_ " he exclaimed with disbelieving laughter. "You want us to talk to Gold?"

"He's our only chance right now. If Blue and the fairies have been cursed, then Gold may be the only one who isn't affected."

"I can't believe this," David muttered. "You remember what happened back in the Enchanted Forest when you made a deal with him, right? Or any of the other times _anyone_ has trusted him?"

Snow smiled weakly. "I know. But it's the only way."

A few moments passed as David racked his brain for an alternative – _anything_ other than asking Mr. Gold for help. He wasn't fully convinced that the fairies had been cursed or coerced or anything like that, but if they were, he had to admit that his and Snow's options were awfully limited. 

"We'll just talk, okay? We won't make any deals unless they are completely free," Snow said. "We know him, we know how he works. If we do this right, there's nothing to worry about."

David sighed dejectedly, unable to come up with a better plan. "Okay."

As they headed for the car, David couldn't quite shake the feeling that things were going in a decidedly bad direction. If it was because of the fact that they were about to talk to Gold or Snow's rapidly increasing determination, he wasn't sure.

 

* * *

 

The doorbell jingled happily as David and Snow entered the pawn shop a little while later, a sound they had both come to associate with disasters, desperation and impending doom.

"Hello, dearies," Mr. Gold greeted them from behind the counter, looking up with an almost friendly expression. "And you're actually coming in here during my open hours. Isn't this a cause for celebration."

"We need some information. Or a favor. Whatever you've got," David said bluntly.

"Well, isn't that a surprise," he drawled mockingly. "Let me guess. There is a... terrible villain – someone from your past perhaps – who is threatening your family but you're not quite sure how, why or what you should do about it, and now you want me to fix everything for you out of the goodness of my pitch black heart." He gave them a bored look, all cheerfulness gone as soon as it had appeared.

Snow and David shared a tentative look, then turned back to Gold and shrugged. "More or less."

"Then find your answers someplace else." Gold gestured impatiently at the door. "I have better things to do."

"Look, we _need_ your help," Snow snapped, surging forward and slamming her hands down on the counter, almost hard enough to shatter it. "Regina has done something to Emma and I need to know what it is. You're the only one we can ask."

Brows furrowed in confusion, Gold looked between Snow and David multiple times before slowly saying, "What are you talking about?"

"We think Regina may have put some kind of spell on Emma. They're always together and practicing magic and I just _know_ that they're hiding something." Her expression hardened and she nodded to herself, as if getting more sure of it just from saying it out loud. "A mother knows."

Gold continued to stare at them for another couple of seconds. "Well... perhaps they're part of some cult," he said slowly, looking to try to gauge their reactions. "Or maybe they have an extremely overbearing family who have the combined perceptiveness of a rock."

Rolling his eyes, David stepped up next to Snow and placed a comforting hand on hers. "Just give us something that will tell us if Regina is hiding something and we'll be out of your hair."

"Very well," Gold muttered with a last disdainful look towards the Charmings and walked over to one of the cupboards. "If it will make you go away faster, I'll give you this. Absolutely free." He pulled out a small vial, walked back to the counter and put it down in front of them. "Consider it a parting gift. It's a simple potion that will reveal what is hidden, but only if–"

Snow took it without hesitation. "Thank you."

"Now before you–"

"Don't worry, we'll leave you to... whatever it is you do," David cut him off, already heading for the door.

"No, what was trying to say was–" Gold tried again.

"It was a one time thing, we get it."

"That's _not_ what I meant!" Gold snapped, finally getting the Charmings' attention.

"Then what?" Snow asked from the doorway, only a few steps away from exiting the store.

Gold hesitated, then threw his hands up and muttered a few unintelligible curses. "You know what? I don't have time for this. Enjoy the potion. I'm sure you'll find it very useful."

The door slammed shut before he had even had time to finish his sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you spell "foreboding"?


	9. Someone Didn't Read the Label

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, as promised! (Might even be a little early, maybe? I can't remember when I uploaded it last week. Oh well)
> 
> Shit, say hello to the the fan.

They were strolling through the woods the next day, looking for some mushrooms needed for the potion. At least that was what Emma guessed, since she didn't exactly remember all of what Regina had told her about their little trip.

"I'm telling you, Mom was this close to flip her shit right there, right in front of the convent."

"And you didn't invite me to watch. What a shame," Regina mused, smiling lightly.

Emma shoved her hands down her pockets and kicked a nearby rock. "I'm pretty sure she would be happier if I was dating an ogre by now. I don't get why she can't just–"

"Stop being an idiot?" Regina filled in.

"Not exactly how I would put it, but yeah."

Bending down to inspect a small, green mushroom that seemed to be coated in some gooey substance, she chuckled. "From what I've seen it's a dominant trait, so don't hold your breath. And stop staring at my ass."

"I wasn't," Emma insisted, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from Regina's behind. "Not sure what I'm supposed to look at otherwise anyway," she added under her breath.

"This." Regina held out a neatly written list of several mushrooms and flowers, each one with a rough sketch or a photo and a short description. "We need at least five of each and it would go much faster if you would get your mind out of the gutter and ogle your surroundings instead of me."

Emma muttered something inaudible, snatching the list from Regina's extended hand.

 

* * *

 

"There they are!" Snow whispered and grabbed David's arm, pulling him close.

David squinted at the two figures in the distance. "What are they doing? Picking flowers?"

"We have to get closer," Snow mumbled, eyes still fixed on Regina and Emma. "Maybe we can hear what they're talking about. I want to know what they're planning."

"They don't look like they're planning anything in particular," David said doubtfully, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with what they were doing. "Should we really be following them like this?"

"We need to find out what they're doing and what Regina has done to Emma," Snow said with finality. "As soon as we know that Emma isn't in any danger, we'll leave them."

Despite his misgivings, David let himself be pulled along towards the two women, always keeping at least a few brushes between them.

"Look!" Snow hissed, pointing indignantly at Emma who was smiling softly at Regina, apparently amused at something she had said.

"It looks like they're having a good time," David tried, watching how Emma easily put a gentle hand on the small of Regina's back as Regina climbed over a fallen tree. It was odd to see the two former enemies like that, sure, but he wasn't sure a spell was to blame. After all, Regina and Mr. Gold was fairly civil with each other nowadays as well.

But Snow wasn't convinced. "Something is wrong," she mumbled, eyes narrowed and her lips turned down at the affectionate display. "We should probably use the potion now. It doesn't look like we can get any closer without risking that they notice us."

David started to object but Snow had the potion out and opened before he had time to figure out a good response. Maybe it was easier to use the potion and put Snow's fears to rest anyway, he reasoned halfheartedly. "Okay."

Snow gulped down half the potion in one take, shivering in disgust at the foul taste. David soon followed suit, gagging as soon as he had swallowed it. "What was _in_ that thing," he muttered, covering his mouth with his hand and hoping that whatever it was wouldn't come back up.

"I can feel it working already," Snow croaked, wincing at the lingering taste. "We'll know what Regina's doing to our daughter any second now–"

A large cloud of smoke suddenly enveloped them and what felt like electricity tore through both their bodies in a none too pleasant way. When the smoke dissipated, Snow and David stared at each other, all color leaving their faces.

"I'm going to kill him," David growled, jaw clenched hard enough for his teeth to feel like they were about to crack.

"Not if I get to him first." Snow buried her face in her hands. " _Fuck_."

 

* * *

 

"I will never understand why you think high heels are even close to suited to trekking through the woods in," Emma grumbled, eyeing Regina's shoes critically.

"I am a queen, dear. The terrain bends to my will." With surprising ease – considering she was wearing both heels and a pencil skirt – she stepped over a large log.

"Yeah yeah, sure," Emma muttered but didn't remove her hand from Regina's back until she was safely on the other side. "Why not just poof everywhere instead?"

"I didn't learn to walk like this in heels to stand around all day, dear," Regina sniffed. "And while your chivalry is admirable, I can assure you I don't need–"

Two yelps and a large cloud of yellowish smoke caused them both to freeze and tense up, Emma subconsciously placing herself slightly in front of Regina. _Always they knight,_ Regina thought with a fond roll of her eyes. When no vicious beast or grotesque monster came rushing towards them, Emma and Regina quickly sprung to life and hurried over to the source of the commotion, both with a fireball ready in their palms. 

The sight that met them stopped them dead in their tracks.

" _Mom? Dad?_ " Emma half-shrieked, staring at her parents who was clinging to each other, completely naked, looking very uncomfortable. Very, _very_ uncomfortable. "What are you even– I mean– out _here_? Really?"

"This isn't what it looks like, Emma," Snow scrambled to explain. "We weren't, ah..." She met David's bewildered look and trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"We're out in the _forest_ and you're _naked_. Where are your clothes?" She winced and took a step back, holding her hands out in front of her. "You know what, I don't want to know. It's bad enough I had to see my parents in bed together and now... now you're banging in the woods? God damn it."

"We were _not_ doing anything like that!" Snow bristled, looking poised to stand before remembering that she still wasn't wearing any clothes.

"No?" Regina asked, a gleeful smirk firmly in place. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, dear. You're still in your honeymoon phase, wanting to spice up the marriage a bit–"

"Regina," Emma groaned.

"–maybe add a little magic to it," she continued with a wink, enjoying herself thoroughly. "Back in the Enchanted Forest, I sometimes experimented a little with enhancing magic, giving a little extra reach when I felt the urge." Her smirk grew even more gleeful. "The maids _loved_ it. Every inch of it." Emma had loved it as well, multiple times, but she thought it best not to mention that. 

" _Regina!_ " Emma looked like she wanted to sink through the earth and her parents looked part mortified and part horrified. "Maybe not brag about your magic... sex... _whatever_ , right now?"

"And here I thought you wanted me to mend my relationship with your parents," Regina countered with mock consternation. "I felt we could really bond over this."

"Look, just get us a blanket or something and we'll just... forget this ever happened," David suggested, failing miserably at sounding calm and collected.

"And we won't ask why _you're_ here," Snow quietly piped up. 

Three pair of eyes turned to her in various amounts of disbelief.

"Really? We were just out picking up stuff for a magic lesson." Shaking her head, Emma crossed her arms, lips turned down in disappointment. "You know what, I could actually have you arrested for this. Don't try to turn this on me."

"Emma, just give us something to cover up with," Snow sighed with a little too much condescension for Emma to let slide.

Emma didn't answer directly, uncrossing her arms and shifting her weight slightly from leg to leg. "Look, this time it was just us who found you, but if there had been someone else..." She let the sentence drift off, shooting an unsure glance at Regina.

"No one else is out here," Snow pointed out, her eyes narrowing. "Except _you_. What were you really doing out here?"

"Mom, this is serious," Emma insisted, increasingly exasperated. Turning slightly towards Regina, she sent her a pleading look, wriggling her fingers on the hand closest to Regina. "This is _illegal_ and we're not in the Enchanted Forest anymore. You're not above the law... and I have to do my job." She flexed her hand again, nodding almost imperceptibly towards Regina.

Had Regina not had an near perfect poker face and excellent self control, she might have not been able to hold back the laughter that was threatening to bubble up inside her. Emma wanted to arrest her parents for being naked in the woods and was going to let _Regina_ be the one to do it for her. She couldn't have planned the day better even if she had tried. Scooting over towards Emma, she nudged Emma's hand with her own, linking their fingers as covertly as possible.

"I'm afraid Emma is right," she said calmly, peering down at the Charmings over her nose. "To have the sheriff and the mayor let a crime like this slide would be a blatant example of nepotism and terrible standard to set. We have to be role models." She tilted her head and gave them a wide, sharp smile, genuine for all the wrong reasons.

"Emma," Snow pleaded. To Regina's delight, the situation seemed to have finally begun to sink in. "You can't be serous."

Her hand still touching Regina's, Emma straightened and schooled her face, looked every inch the sheriff she was. "Maybe having sex in public wasn't a crime for royalty where you come from, but in Maine it's a misdemeanor. I'm completely serious."

The way all remaining blood fled both of the Charmings' faces made Regina want to cackle. Loudly. Again.

Snow opened and closed her mouth uselessly for a while before exclaiming, "But– I'm your _mother_!"

"And I'm the sheriff." Emma emphasized it by conjuring up a pair of police handcuffs. "Don't make me use this, Mom."

Snow sputtered some more but wisely didn't press her luck.

"At least give us something to cover up with?" David asked, very much regretting he ever got out of bed this morning.

"Of course, dear. We're not cavemen," Regina assured him. "Unlike _some_ people," she added airily.

When Regina had conjured two blankets and both Snow and David were safely covered, they all began their walk back to where Emma had parked her car, Snow and David huddled together in front and Regina and Emma trailing behind them, far enough to be able to talk without risk of being overheard.

"Thanks," Emma whispered as Regina relinquished control of her mind. "I would have, you know, but..."

"But you're still a pushover when it comes to them," Regina dryly pointed out. "You have to assert yourself at some point, Emma. They'll run you over until you do."

"Well, I did do this, right? Kinda?" She gave Regina such a hopeful look that Regina couldn't help but smile fondly.

"You did in a way, I suppose." Making sure the Charmings wasn't looking, she leaned over and whispered in Emma's ear. " _Good girl._ " The way Emma's face lit up with pride was well worth the impending headache of having to deal with her insipid parents.

 

* * *

 

"I need some air," Emma muttered as she locked the cell she had just put her father in. She looked about to say something else but changed her mind at the last moment and turned on her heel, stomping out of the room instead.

"This is your fault," Snow hissed just as Regina she was about to join Emma outside.

" _My_ fault?" Regina chuckled, stopping in the doorway. "And how is that?"

"You've done something to her to turn her against us. Before you became _friends_ ," she grimaced at the word, "she would never have done something like this."

"Oh, please." Regina sauntered back to Snow's cell, a taunting swagger in her step. "She just watched her parents naked, being intimate _and_ breaking the law. She isn't the one at fault. Besides, how would you feel if the roles were reversed and you found her in the woods, naked and in the arms of... someone?"

Before Snow could reply, Emma poked her head in. "Regina, you coming?"

"I sure hope so, dear," Regina drawled with a smile. "I think I've said what I have to say."

"So..." Emma said when they were safely out of the room and out of earshot, warily glancing at the door they had just exited through, as if her parents might come barging through at any moment. "What are we supposed to do with them now? I can't just leave them there, can I?"

Regina scrunched her nose up in displeasure. "Like I said, this isn't a nepotism. For all intents and purposes, they had public sex and that _is_ a misdemeanor in the state of Maine. At least keep them overnight unless you want to look like they're completely above the law."

Slumping against the wall, Emma sighed. "I guess you're right." She paused, mulling over something. "I don't think they were out there to have sex, though."

"Neither do I."

"You don't?" Emma looked up, surprised.

"Of course not," Regina scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Your parents may be disgustingly affectionate with each other on a regular basis, but they're far too prude to do something like that. That, coupled with the magic cloud of smoke and them just _happening_ to be a few feet away from us..." She shrugged.

"They were spying on us, weren't they?" Emma let out a colorful string of curses, pushing away from the wall and starting pacing. "Being all weird because we're friends is one thing, spying on us? That's way over the line."

"I agree." Regina pursed her lips in thought. "Perhaps we should also have a talk with Rumple to see just what that magic was meant to do."

Emma stopped and stared at Regina incredulously. "You think they went to Gold for that? What about the fairies?"

"That wasn't fairy dust, dear. Now, why don't I go speak with the imp while you make sure your parents aren't trying to escape or instigate some kind of overthrowing of the local authorities?"

"What? Oh, no no no," Emma sputtered. "You can't expect _me_ to sit in there with them the rest of the day. No way."

Crossing her arms, Regina met Emma's wide eyes calmly. "Someone needs to watch them and you _are_ the sheriff."

"I'll get Ruby," Emma blurted out. "She's worked here before, she can watch them and call me if anything happens." Without skipping a beat, she pulled up her phone and pressed the speed dial to Ruby.

A couple of tones passed until the line crackled and came to life.

" _Yeah?_ "

Emma started, momentarily wondering if she had called the wrong number. "Granny?"

" _That's me. Ruby's busy right now._ "

"I'm having something of an emergency down at the station, do you know if she's free the rest of the day?"

" _I guess it's not too busy over here,_ " Granny replied hesitantly. " _If it's that much of an emergency–_ "

"It is," Emma assured her, "it really, _really_ is. Tell her to get over here as soon as humanly possibly. Or faster."

" _Fine. By the way, do you have your girlfriend there?_ "

"My what– my girlfriend?" Emma stammered. "I don't have a girlfriend."

" _Yeah, and Ruby is completely straight,_ " Granny scoffed. "Sure. _Just put Regina on the phone if she's there._ "

Emma stared at her phone in bewilderment for a moment before giving up and holding it out to Regina. "Granny wants to talk to you."

Raising an eyebrow in mild surprise, Regina took it. "Yes? Oh, yes," she shot Emma a glance that was somehow both fond and condescending, "she can be a little slow at times. Hm? The recipe was delicious, thank you. Of course, I'm more than happy to– yes, exactly. It gives them a little more kick. Yes. I'll bring it tomorrow. Goodbye."

"'A little slow'?" Emma repeated as she snatched her phone back from Regina's grasp.

"It's rather endearing, really. Don't pout."

"I'm not pouting!"

"Whatever you say, dear." She gave Emma a quick peck on the cheek and headed for the exit.

 

* * *

 

Emma was just about to call and pester Granny a second time when she finally heard someone outside the station door. "Ruby, I've seriously been waiting–" She jumped back with a squeak as the door opened, revealing a huge, hulking black wolf just outside. "Rubes? What the– is that you?"

The wolf started shifting and morphing into a human until Ruby stood before her, getting up from her hands and knees and dusting herself off. "Hey Em!" she chirped with a wide grin.

"Why?" was all Emma could come up with.

"Granny said I had to hurry, and since I'm way faster on four legs than on two I figured I could use the exercise," Ruby explained with a carefree shrug. "So what's the situation?"

"Well, ah, my parents," Emma began, trying to gather her thoughts. "They were, um, caught in the woods... naked. And I had to arrest them. They're in different cells now, Regina got them blankets..."

At first, Ruby just stared, but when Regina's blankets were mentioned what little composure she had crumbled with a snort and she started laughing. "Are you serious?" She wheezed out between fits of laughter. "They– they shagged against a tree and you and Regina arrested them?"

"I do _not_ need images like that. Do you even know how traumatized I am already?" Emma whined.

Wiping away tears, Ruby held her stomach with her free hand. "And then Regina poofed them to the station?"

"We walked here," Emma mumbled, causing another giggling fit from Ruby. "But we didn't meet that many people, I think. We were pretty discreet."

"Sure you were. Damn, I would have loved to have seen Regina's face. She must have looked _so smug_." Chuckling at the thought, she sighed happily and ran a hand through her hair. "Man, you're a riot, Em. So, what do you want me to do? Give them a lecture in public decency?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Emma took in Ruby's outfit with a skeptical expression: stiletto heels, her signature tiny shorts, and a flannel shirt with one too many buttons undone. "Funny. No, you just need to sit in there with them and make sure they don't... escape... or something." She winced at how ridiculous it sounded. "It's too weird for me to be in there with them right now."

"Sure thing, I'm on it," Ruby happily agreed.

"It won't be a problem then? That it's, you know, Snow? Your friend?"

At that, Ruby sobered up a little. "Not really. She's made remarks about the way I dress more than enough times for me to get to tease her about this without any guilt." She peered curiously at Emma. "Did they really have sex in the woods, though?"

Emma hesitated for a moment, wondering just how much she should reveal. For now, it was probably easiest to go with the obvious explanation, even if it wasn't entirely correct. "Me and Regina found them naked in the forest, holding each other," she said truthfully. "I honestly didn't ask them what they were doing. I'm traumatized enough as it is."

"Leave that to me," Ruby replied with a wicked grin. "I'll be sure to get all the juicy details."

"Just as long as you don't tell me about them. Anyway, I'll be going but call if something comes up. And don't let them home even if they try to go all royalty on your ass. They're staying there until at least tomorrow."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Ruby replied with a salute.


	10. A Little Bird Told Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New weekend, new chapter. As always, thanks for all the comments! I love reading every one of them <3

The ground shook under Emma's feet, vibrating again and again to the steady rhythm of a large two-legged monster that slowly made its way towards her. A few months earlier she might have been afraid, but after seeing villains and monsters pop up every few weeks during her stay in Storybrooke, she was more than used to it; she was numb, even bored by it. Besides, the other inhabitants of Storybrooke were often more than willing to provide their own fear and panic to the situation.

"It's coming right for us!"

Emma's lips turned down in annoyance. "That's the _plan_ , Doc."

The mailman stood on the other side of her, practically humming with anxiety. "But it's bigger than a giant! It's going to kill us all!"

"Would you guys shut it already?" Emma snapped. "I know what I'm doing. This is, what, the third monster this month?" She squinted at it, mentally comparing it to the previous ones. "Although it is a little bigger than the others, I guess."

The monster let out a loud roar, causing the dwarf and mailman to jump and huddle behind Emma for cover.

"There is no use, we can't–"

"You shut the _fuck_ up right now or I'm locking you up for the rest of the year for reckless endangerment _and_ attempted murder, you got that?" Emma barked, glaring murderously at Doc until he stammered an incoherent apology and slunk back a few more feet. "Now, you two get back and let me deal with this asshole."

Every other week, someone figured the best way to deal with a problem was to summon an ancient guardian, rub a magic lamp the wrong way, draw a pentagram in the sand or maybe just dump a shitload of fairy dust onto something and Emma – being the sheriff – was the one who had to clean it all up. At first it had been thrilling, taking down a monster the size of a small house all on her own (Regina's proud smile was a reward in and of itself, of course) but somewhere along the way even something as unusual as monsters attacking the town became tedious. The monster would stomp down the street, roaring and waving its appendages, scaring the townspeople and usually destroying some property before Emma could pounce it with magic until it disintegrated. The next week: rinse, repeat.

"I guess we can't talk about this?" Emma tried halfheartedly, peering up at the monster. It was at least four or five times taller than her, vaguely humanoid-shaped and was covered in glitter, presumably from the fairy dust that had been used to create it. Its hands ended in feet-long claws and its mouth was filled with razor sharp fangs that sparkled in the sunlight. Pretty standard. "Alright, Edward, show me what you've got," she taunted, lowering her stance and readying herself for the fight.

Edward roared again – seemingly not too pleased with its glitter-inspired name – and aimed a slash of its claws for Emma's head, but she easily ducked under them and responded with a burst of magic. Edward let out a squealing noise and stumbled backwards, but didn't fall.

Despite the cheers from her onlookers, she frowned in frustration. The last monster had reacted much more viscerally to her magic. Perhaps the fairy dust made it more resilient to light magic? Shrugging to herself, she shot a burst of fire at it to see if that worked any better, but Edward only backed a few more steps, seemingly more annoyed than hurt.

"It's retreating!" someone with less than stellar observational skills cheered from the growing crowd behind Emma.

"Woo," Emma mumbled, racking her brain for another way to get rid of the monster. Sure, she could probably just blast it with all the magic she had, but chances were she would need to sleep for a week afterwards or, at worst, faint on the spot.

A couple of bricks lying at the side of the street between her and Edward suddenly caught her eye and she got an idea. Perhaps it wasn't a particularly _good_ idea, but when had that stopped her before?

As Edward shook its head and started moving towards them again, Emma picked up the brick with her magic and moved it until it was hovering a few feet up in the air in front of her. "Time to channel my inner police chief," she mumbled, punching her fist forward. The brick instantly shot forward, hitting Edward straight in the chest and splitting into rubble. Edward stumbled backwards but nothing gave her the impression that he was hurt by it. Her frown deepening, Emma made a disappointed noise. There were a few more bricks lying where she had found the first one, but she would need much more than that and she was fairly certain that Regina wouldn't appreciate it if Emma pulled up parts of the asphalt to pound the monster with.

"It's coming closer!" the same voice from before yelled and the crowd collectively took a few steps backs, murmuring in fear.

"Maybe we should get Regina," Doc suggested, looking ready to bolt at any moment.

"I don't need Regina. I can handle this myself." Maybe if she couldn't toss the street at the monster, she could toss the monster into the street? After all, Regina often said that she was better with brute force than finesse. Flexing her fingers and making sure her feet were firmly rooted on the ground, she shot the full force of her magic out towards the monster, enveloping it and pulling it cleanly up into the air in one smooth move. She couldn't hold it too steady but it was up there and it wasn't going anywhere on its own accord. Emma allowed herself a small grin.

Just when she was about to throw it down into the street, she stopped herself. Regina would really hate it if she had to repair the asphalt _again_. If Emma could just somehow destroy the monster while it was still in the air...

"Are you sure we shouldn't get someone? Mr. Gold could probably–"

"I've _got this_!" Emma growled out, feeling sweat drops beginning to form at her temples and the back of her neck. "I just need to..." She winced, trying to grip Edwards arm with her magic while still keeping it in the air, but it was much more difficult than she had thought.

It took a few minutes but when she finally had steady grips of Edward and its arm, she didn't waste any more time and promptly used her magic to rip the arm loose with a victorious "Ha!".

The arm fell to the ground, yet within seconds, another arm had grown out in the old one's place. Emma cursed. Apparently Edward was more resilient than it looked.

"It's invincible!" the person in the crowd – someone who Emma increasingly wanted to dismember instead – squeaked.

"I'm getting Blue," Doc declared, "and your parents. The always know what to do in times–"

"No!" Emma exclaimed and spun around to face him, her frustration boiling over. "I do _not_ need Regina, Gold, Blue, my parents _or anyone else_! I can take care of one little monster perfectly well on my own, you got that?" She was pretty sure her hands were shooting sparks of her magic by now but she was too tired of it all to care. "Now, I'm the sheriff and you're not, so you're all going to step back and _shut the fuck up_ and I'm going to turn around and put this monster _down_ , once and for all." She emphasized it by shoving her hand down hard, pointing at the ground.

As soon as she did, she could feel her magic activating, coursing through her body and shooting out towards Edward. Then the world exploded behind her, causing everyone to stumble and fall over. Dazed, Emma stared in disbelief at the huge glittery cloud that now were where Edward had been a moment earlier. "What the hell..." She coughed and got to her legs, doing her best to wave away the cloud of sparkly dust that obscured her vision. When the dust finally settled, it revealed a large crater, a few feet deep, that covered almost the whole width of the street. Regina was going to be _pissed_.

"Uh, what happened?" she asked Doc who was still looking a little out of it. "Was... was that me?"

Doc nodded dumbly, leaning on the mailman.

"Okay. Well." Emma dusted her hands off on her thighs, looking out over the crowd and trying to regain at least some semblance of authority. "Show's over, folks. Clear the area." She then turned back to Doc and the mailman, narrowing her eyes menacingly at them. "And you two are in some big shit right now. Apart from the fact that you're _both_ going to pay for reparations and cleanup, you're going to get your asses over to Granny's, sit down with some nice desserts and you're going to talk this out. This is where your bickering ends."

Both of them immediately began sputtering protests but Emma quickly shut them down.

"If you don't show up there within in minutes and stay there _and talk_ for a couple of hours, you're spending the next week in jail. In the same cell." She crossed her arms. "And I'm going to tell Granny to keep an eye on you. Do anything stupid or try to leave and I'm giving her permission to use her crossbow on you. Now get your asses out of here."

They mumbled and glared at each other but didn't offer any more objections, eventually leaving and reluctantly making their way towards Granny's diner.

Emma sighed heavily, relaxing her posture again. Another day, another monster destroyed, another upcoming scolding from Regina about destroying public property. Right now, she just wanted to go home and sleep–

_Sleep. Shit._

Sure, her parents wouldn't be home over night but eventually they would be released and things would be at the very least extremely awkward. Wincing, she rubbed her neck in thought until she realized she was unconsciously beginning to unwrap her scarf. She threw a few worried glances around as she quickly readjusted her scarf, making sure it was firmly in place around her neck.

Maybe she could stay at Regina's tonight. She sure could need some uninterrupted sleep without worrying about her parents walking in on her with her collar visible. At least both Regina _and_ Henry knew about it already.

With a final sigh, she pulled out her phone. She was going to need backup to clean up all this glitter.

 

* * *

 

The sheriff's station was deathly quiet, the air filled with an overwhelming awkwardness that Ruby gleefully ignored. (Or thoroughly enjoyed, she couldn't quite decide.) She had been sitting at one of the tables for a few hours, watching as the Charmings' mood varied between mortification and wary calmness. Maybe it was a little morbid of her, but she had to admit a part of her – maybe the more Ruby-esque part – found it utterly refreshing seeing the moral power couple behind bars for public sex.

She put in a new piece of chewing gum in her mouth and crossed her legs, giving Snow a lecherous smile. "So..." Ruby dragged the word out obnoxiously for several seconds. "I've been meaning to ask you something, you know."

Snow and David both looked equally mortified.

Ruby snickered and put her legs up on the nearest desk. "A little bird told me our dear sheriff and mayor found you two naked in the woods."

In an instant, Snow's demeanor turned from mortified to horrified, all blood draining from her face. "They _saw us_?" she all but shrieked, clutching the bars.

Surprised by the sudden outburst, Ruby glanced at David to see if he knew what was going on, but he looked as dumbfounded as she. "I just said– who– what are you talking about?"

" _The birds!_ They can't see me like this." Snow groaned pitifully and slouched on her cot. "This is so bad."

"The... birds." Ruby blinked. "The ones you talk to. Right."

"They're never going to take me seriously again!"

"Snow," David said, awkwardly patting her through the bars. "Birds don't wear clothes. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I mean, you've got the eagles on your side already, right?" Ruby helpfully filled in.

Snow looked up in confusion. "Eagles?"

Ruby nodded and give Snow a wink. " _Spread eagles_."

If there hadn't been multiple cell bars between her and Snow, Ruby would have feared for her own safety, werewolf or not.

_Still worth it._

 

* * *

 

Emma was leaning against her police cruiser when Henry came walking out of the school, taking a well deserved break from the cleanup. That damn glitter was a pain to get rid of, both from the ground and her clothes.

"Hey, kid," she waved at him as he weaved through the crowd of kids towards her.

He gave her an odd look. "Hey, Ma. Did something happen?"

"Nah, just thought I'd drive you home today for a change."

Henry didn't look convinced, but he got in the car without any questions. A minute after they had pulled away from the school, he asked, "So, why did you really pick me up?"

"Am I really that easy to read?"

"Yeah," Henry shrugged, a hint of smugness in his expression. "And you're tapping the steering wheel like when you're in trouble with Mom." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"What? No," Emma assured him, curling her fingers closer around the steering wheel. "Well... not yet, anyway. And besides, that's not why I wanted to talk to you." She paused, chewing on her cheek while looking for the right words. "If... if I moved in with– I mean, into the mansion – your mom's mansion – just for a little while, maybe... would that bother you?"

Henry scrunched his face up in confusion at Emma's barely comprehensible ramblings. "Why can't you live with Grams and Gramps like you do now?"

"I... we're not on the best of terms right now," Emma explained, then hastened to add, "and besides, Regina's place is way bigger than Mom's loft. It'd be good to have some more space, right?"

"I guess that would be cool." He thought about it for a moment. "We'd live there all three, like a family?"

Emma licked her lips, hesitating for a few moments before answering. "Sure, something like that. I haven't talked to your mother about it yet, though, so don't get your hopes up. I just thought I'd see what you thought about it first."

Rolling his eyes in a manner that he had clearly inherited from Regina, Henry huffed. "She's going to say yes. _Obviously_."

Emma perked up. "You really think so?"

Again, the look Henry gave her was a dead ringer for Regina's _you're-being-an-idiot-again-dear_ expression.

"Never mind," she muttered.

 

* * *

 

With Henry safely deposited in the mayoral mansion, Emma lingered by the curb outside, leaning on her cruiser again and twirling her phone around her fingers. Despite Henry's confidence, she wasn't entirely sure about asking to stay with Regina and him. It was a cop-out, no way around it, and Regina would know it immediately. She doubted very much that moving in together while still pretending to be just friends would go over well with Regina. Still, after the monster fight earlier, Regina was going to be pissed either way, so the day was going to be difficult no matter what Emma did, right?

Regina picked up after only a few tones. " _Yes, Miss Swan._ "

_Miss Swan_. Emma winced. "Hey... you don't sound all that happy to hear my voice," she noted lamely.

" _I would have been much happier if you would have refrained from creating a hole in North Street and covering the neighborhood in glitter,_ " she replied dryly.

"At least I didn't pull down any electric cables this time, right?"

" _And all houses in the vicinity of the impact crater are still standing. Excellent work._ "

"You could teach me how to repair stuff next time, maybe?" Emma suggested.

" _Try to refrain from destroying anything else until then. Now did you call for another reason than to grovel?_ " Her voice got a distinctly silkier quality. " _Because that is much more effective in person, dear._ "

Emma cleared her throat, not quite noticing how her fingers made their way up to her neck to fiddle with her collar. "I, ah... I wondered if I could crash at your place for a little while. If that would be okay."

" _'Crash at my place?' We're not teenagers, Miss Swan,_ " Regina said, annoyance seeping into her voice again.

"Well, things are really awkward with my parents right now and Ruby will never stop me teasing if I'm staying at Granny's, so..."

" _So you want to move in with me._ " There was a short pause. " _Fine. But you need to tell the two idiots that yourself._ In person _, right now. And you're_ crashing _in the guest bedroom._ "

"Regina," Emma whined in objection.

" _Unless you want to explain things for our son, of course._ "

Emma huffed. "Okay, okay. I'll go tell my parents and then I'll bring over what I need."

" _Do that._ "

Despite the abrupt ending and Regina's general lack of enthusiasm, Emma was still pretty satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. She was sleeping at Regina's, she would be able to enjoy Regina's cooking daily, and she hadn't been threatened with bodily harm or stripped of visitation rights to Henry for blowing up parts of downtown. All in all, it had gone well.

Of course, there was still the small matter of speaking with her parents.

 

* * *

 

When Emma entered the station, she found it much more peaceful than she had expected it. She wasn't quite sure why, but she had thought leaving Ruby in charge of her parents for a couple of hours would leave a bigger mark.

"Hey, Em!" Ruby called out when she saw her, holding up a bag of candy. "You want one?"

"Nah, I'm good." She went over to the cells and handed her parent a bag each. "I brought you some clothes. Figured it would be against the Geneva Convention or something to keep you here like... that." She made a face at the memory of finding her parents naked. "Anyway, I, uh, I thought I'd say that I'm... it's nothing wrong with your place, but it's, you know... and this today, it's all just so..."

Three pairs of eyes stared at her dumbly.

"Just spit it out, Em," Ruby told her, before adding with a cheerful smile, "We're all friends here, right?"

"Right," Emma repeated, her own smile feeling rather stiff. "Well, what I was trying to say was... I'm staying with Regina for a little while. Until this," she made a gesture towards her parents, "is, uh, behind me. Behind us. I think it's best."

Snow dropped her clothes down on the floor with a thump. "You're moving in with Regina?"

"It's really cramped at your place, Mom," Emma defended, "and Henry's already living there anyway. It makes sense."

"Well, we knew this day would come at some point, right?" David tried with a halfhearted chuckle and a look on his face that screamed _we'll talk about this later young woman_. "No one can live with their parents forever, and you won't be too far–"

"No! It's wrong," Snow insisted vehemently. "She's poisoning you, Emma, and you don't even notice it! It's always Regina this and Regina that and–"

" _Snow._ " David's voice had a sharp tone to it that Emma was the least bit used to hearing, but Snow just shrugged it off.

"You know I'm right, David. Regina is _bad_ for her." When David wasn't budging, she shook her head in exasperation. "Fine. Not like I can stop you. Now, are you going to let us out of here or what?"

Emma squared her shoulders and crossed her arms. "You're staying here at least overnight... unless you give me a better explanation to what you were doing out there, of course."

Neither one of her parents seemed willing to say anything, although Snow looked more brooding than embarrassed.

"Okay, in that case, I'm off. Sleep tight. You can go now too, Ruby. The night officer will take over in a while."

"Emma," Snow called out as soon as she had a foot over the doorstep. "If– if you do this, you will not be allowed home again. You can stay with _Regina_ if that's really what you want," she declared, her voice unusually hollow.

Feeling as if she had been punched in the gut, Emma was about to make a curse-ridden retort, but stopped herself at the last moment. "Fine," she grunted, clenching her fists tightly together. "Then that's exactly what I'll do, and you can just stay here with your crap. And I–" She met Snow's eyes, hard and cold and determined and Emma just had to leave _right now_. "You know what, fuck this. I'm out of here."

Just like earlier that day, her magic quickly flooded her body and she suddenly found herself enveloped in a cloud of bright white smoke. 

The next thing she knew, she was standing out in the woods. Apparently she had somehow managed to poof herself across town by mistake. Letting out a string of curses that Regina would kill her for if Henry ever heard, she pulled up her phone and called Regina.

"Hey, things went kind of bad with my parents. And we should probably practice poofing during our next magic lesson."


	11. Taking It Easy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the hitch in the update schedule, offline stuff and some other fics got in the way. I'm still hoping to keep updating this fairy regularly but I'm not sure if weekly is a feasible pace. We'll just have to see.
> 
> In any case, thanks for all the wonderful comments! It's always a pleasure reading them :)

"I'm going to _kill_ her!" Regina hissed, clenching her glass hard enough that she was surprised it didn't crack. "I'm going to go over there, rip out her heart, and–"

"Regina..." Emma sounded tired, a far cry from how upset she had sounded on the phone. She was slumped in Regina's sofa, loosely holding her own glass of cider, her eyes dim and her expression despondent.

"Fine. I'm not going to _kill her_ kill her," Regina huffed. She put down her glass on the table before there would be cider and glass shards all over the room. "But I can't promise I won't assault her the next time I see her."

Emma just shrugged and took another sip of her cider. "Don't make me arrest you too," she quipped with a weak smile.

"Why are you so calm about this? You should be _livid_ , Emma," Regina asked, increasingly exasperated. "She disowned you after moving out, she–"

"I know, okay?" Emma snapped, a hint of anger flaring up in her eyes again. "I just... what's the point."

Regina sighed, unsure of what to say. Emma looked so small where she sat, so unlike her usually sure and brazen self. She wanted to help, somehow, but she didn't know how. Going after Snow would obviously not help.

"What about David?"

"What about him?"

Folding her hands neatly on her lap, Regina tried to prepare herself for saying something actually positive about one of the Charmings. "He can be somewhat perceptive at times and I've found him not to be quite as set in his ways as Snow is, at times." The words left surprisingly little of a bitter aftertaste; perhaps the horror of having them as future in-laws wouldn't be as overwhelming as she had feared.

Emma's expression grew thoughtful. "He sounded pretty upset too, actually. I don't think he was prepared for what M–" her face dropped again, "what Snow said."

"Perhaps you could talk to him tomorrow?" Regina suggested softly. When Emma didn't react, she added, "Or in a few days. Just talk to him about this, okay? Maybe he can get Snow's head out of her ass."

To Regina's delight, Emma's lips quirked up in a faint but genuine show of amusement.

"In any case, we should both get some sleep." Regina stood and smoothed out her dress. "I doubt either of us is in any shape to practice magic tonight."

Emma got to her feet and followed her, hiding a wide yawn behind her hand while she ambled through the mansion and up the stairs. When Regina stopped outside her bedroom, Emma's demeanor shifted, suddenly all awkward and unsure, shifting her weight from leg to leg, eyeing the door cautiously.

"Emma?"

"Can I..." She eyed door to Henry's room, chewing on her cheek. Lowering her voice, she continued, "Can I sleep with, uh, you, tonight?"

"Emma," Regina replied, her resolve rapidly crumbling under Emma's pleading gaze. "Our son is sleeping in the next room. How are we going to explain sleeping in the same bed?"

Emma shrugged stiffly and shoved her hands down her pockets. "Sleepover?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina scoffed. "He's not an idiot. Eventually he'll understand what's going on between us."

After a moment's hesitation, Emma smiled, the gesture not reaching her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I'll take the guest room." Another moment of hesitation went by before she turned and made her way over to the guest bedroom. "Good night."

Regina bit her tongue and wished that things could just be _easy_ for once. No spells, no collars, no angry in-laws, and no shared sons kept in the dark. Just the three of them living together. Calm and simple, mundane and delightfully boring. "Wait."

The look in Emma's eyes as she spun around was almost enough to break Regina's heart: pain, vulnerability mixed with an almost imperceptible glint of hope.

"You may sleep here tonight," Regina sighed, crossing her arms. "But only tonight. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"You're sure?" Emma asked, her body tense – she looked ready to bolt at any moment – while her eyes darted between Regina and the bedroom door.

"I'm sure. Now get in her and get ready so we can get some sleep."

Emma didn't wait another second, following Regina into the bedroom without a word. They changed and got ready in silence, the oddness of the situation coupled with the lingering somberness from their earlier conversation draining the air of any hint of sexual tension.

When they finally lay in the bed, Regina allowed herself to relax. Although sharing a bed with Emma without any sexual connotations was uncharted territory, sharing a bed overall was nothing new and certainly nothing to be nervous about. She sighed and willed the last of the tension from the evening seep out of her limbs, reminding herself that this still was just _Emma_ , someone she often felt, if not safe, then at least at peace around.

Sure, Emma was a mess – and more than occasionally infuriating – but unlike with most people, around her Regina didn't need to hide herself. Either explicitly or implicitly, Emma knew both the best and the worst parts of Regina and seemed to accept her despite it.

"G'night," Emma mumbled and curled up on her side, her back towards Regina.

"Good night," Regina responded, placing a tentative hand on Emma's back. When Emma didn't react, she took it as a good sign and scooted up to Emma, throwing an arm around her waist and molding herself to Emma's back. With a pleased sigh, she relaxed fully and let herself drift off into dreamland, lulled to sleep by the feeling and scent of Emma surrounding her.

 

* * *

 

Much as it had the last time Emma had slept over, the following morning felt eerily domestic, albeit not in a particularly bad way. Emma sat at the kitchen table nursing a huge cup of coffee while Regina bustled about, making the table and making pancakes. They hadn't spoken much since they had woken up – in fact, Emma had barely spoken at all, only whining and burrowing deeper into her pillow when Regina told her they had to get up.

"Morning, Mom," Henry mumbled as he ambled into the kitchen, plopping down on a chair by the table and looking almost as tired as Emma. He yawned widely and then did a double take when his sleep-addled mind finally seemed to catch up with his surroundings. "So you're living here now, huh?"

Emma looked up from her cup, mustering up a crooked smile that wouldn't have fooled a blind person. "I guess so." She ducked her head and glanced up through her lashes towards Regina before shrugging. "For now, at least."

"Why aren't you living with Grandma and Grandpa anymore? They're your family."

"You're my family too," Emma objected before catching herself and quickly adding with another nervous glance towards Regina, "I mean, you're my son, and– and Regina is your mother, so, uh–"

"Emma is having some differences in opinion with your grandparents at the moment, Henry," Regina smoothly explained. "She needed some time away from them and I had a spare room."

Henry's eyes narrowed even while taking a large bite of a freshly made pancake. "Is that why you arrested them?"

Both women froze, sharing equally wild looks with each other. "Henry..."

"Were you even going to tell me about that? Ever?" How he was able to look so indignant while devouring pancake after pancake was a mystery to Regina. She blamed puberty.

"This really doesn't have anything to do with you, kid," Emma muttered, grimacing as she gulped down a large part of her coffee.

"I'm not a little kid, Ma!" Henry bristled. "You're always keeping me out of what's going on, treating me like I'm ten but I'm _not_ , I'm–"

"We found them naked in the woods, okay?" Emma groaned, abruptly putting a stop to his ramblings. "I arrested them for public indecency."

"Emma!" Regina hissed.

"What? He wanted to know." She gestured at Henry who looked less and less pleased – or comfortable – with the answer. "He's old enough, isn't he?"

Regina pursed her lips in thought as she turned off the stove and joined the others at the table. "I suppose he is," she said slowly, nodding to herself. Noting Henry's obvious discomfort, a plan began to form in her mind. "Perhaps we should have a family meeting to discuss this."

Both Emma and Henry turned towards her, blinking in confusion.

"Discuss what?" Henry asked. Regina could practically see the gears turning in his mind.

"Oh. Absolutely," Emma agreed, having caught on quicker than her son. Donning her best Concerned Parent stereotype of an expression, she frowned seriously at Henry. "Henry, don't have sex in the woods. Or outdoors at all for that matter."

Henry's eyes widened considerably as he proceeded to choke on his orange juice.

"Hey, no goofing around," Emma chided him. "This is important stuff, kiddo."

" _Ma!_ " Henry exclaimed, his face now beet red. "Please don't."

Regina didn't waste time to add her own wise words. "Now, Henry, when two people love each other very much–"

"You _really_ don't have to." Henry looked like he wanted to melt through the cracks in the floor. "I'm sorry for asking about it – can we just please stop talking about it?"

Regina placed a supportive hand over his own. "You don't have to apologize for anything, dear. It's perfectly healthy to have questions about these kinds of things, even at your age. Frankly, I find the taboo regarding sexuality and relationships quite detrimental to the well-being of curious young individuals such as yourself."

Groaning loudly, Henry buried his face in his palms.

"You know, I've noticed you've been hanging out a lot with the Zimmer kids," Emma mentioned, looking more upbeat by the minute.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us? Maybe something about a special person in your life?" Regina asked innocently.

"Oh my _god_ ," Henry exclaimed, burying his face deeper in his palms. "We're just friends!"

"And that's perfectly fine, too," Regina assured him, giving him a little pat on his hand. "Just know that we're here for you, whenever you want to talk about things like this."

"Yeah. Sure. Okay. Thanks." Henry cleared his throat awkwardly and slid off the chair. "I really need to get to school." He fled the room before either of his mothers could reply.

When the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the mansion a couple of minutes later, Emma and Regina finally let their masks crumble, collapsing in a fit of giggles. 

"That was just _too_ good," Emma chuckled. "Although I think we traumatized him a bit."

Regina shrugged, a grin playing on her lips. "As much as I love him, he can get a little too inquisitive at times."

"True."

The silence that fell was amiable and Regina felt no urge to break it with idle chatter. Thinking about more mornings like this one – simple moments with her family – filled her with warmth and content. Of course, the fact that Emma was still only here – at least officially – as a friend on the run from her parents dampened her elation a little, but it was a taste of what could come later.

"So... did you talk to Gold yet?" Emma asked quietly, as if she didn't want to disturb the peace too much.

Regina nodded. "I did. Apparently Gold gave your parents some kind of eavesdropping potion but they left before he could tell them how to use it. Had they inhaled the fumes, they would have been able to listen in on us from a distance." Her smile grew. "However, if they _drank_ it, the result was another entirely. _Poof._ "

"Damn, that's some bad luck." Emma soon grew somber. "But that was way out of line. And if Mom had heard what we talked about..."

"She would probably be leading a mob right about now."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "Speaking of which, any suggestions about how long I keep them locked up?"

"You _are_ the sheriff, dear." She got to her feet and began collecting the dishes. "But I suppose, if it was me... I would probably let them go today. I'm as certain David has learned his lesson as much as I doubt that Snow has learned hers. Keeping them locked up would be an exercise in futility."

"You're probably right," Emma mumbled. "Not like I'm going to charge them with anything anyway."

"Besides, without David too help you, we both know you'd be working too hard," Regina sniffed, scrunching up her nose in distaste.

Emma smiled fondly, then blushed and looked down at her plate, scraping up the last precious pieces of pancake. "Right again. Guess I should be used to that by now."

Somehow, the silence that followed was even more comfortable than the one before.

 

* * *

 

Emma entered the station later that day, her body tense and her lips in a tight line. Without so much as a glance to Snow, she marched over to David's cell and threw him a pair of keys.

"Emma?" Snow asked, looking cautiously from Emma to David and back. "What's going on?"

"Stop." Emma held up a hand towards Snow but her eyes stayed fixed on David. "I didn't came here to talk to either of you, I just came to let you know that you're free to go."

David frowned in confusion. "Just like that?"

"Yeah," Emma grunted, "just like that. I need my deputy back and nothing's getting any better by you two taking up space in here."

"Alright." He hesitated, fiddling with the keys in his hand. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" He tried to smile but didn't quite manage.

Emma only responded with an unintelligible grumble and a shrug before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room. 

The brisk walk to Granny's did wonders for her mood, the cool air calming her and the exercise getting rid of some of her excess energy and anger.

"Heya, Em! What can I get you?" Ruby called out when Emma stepped through the door to Granny's a little while later.

"Uh, nothing from the menu, thanks." Emma blinked and felt her cheeks heat up when Ruby cocked her head to the side, an eyebrow raised. "And that sounded like a really weird pickup line. I didn't mean it like that."

Ruby pursed her lips, making a show of running her eyes over Emma's body. "I don't mind."

"Would you quit that?" Emma huffed. "Look, I just need some of your hair."

Frowning, Ruby looked up at Emma's face again. "If that was you trying to tone down the weirdness, you've got to work on it some more."

"It's a long story, but I need some of your _werewolf_ hair for a magic... thingy. Something. I promise I'm not trying to clone you."

Ruby thought it over for a moment. "Okay, but on one condition: you come with me to the Rabbit Hole tonight for a girl's night out. You need some time off, stat."

"Come on, Rubes..." Emma groaned.

"Nope. That's the only deal you'll get."

Doing her best not to pout, Emma weighed her options. She needed the hair for the potion, and would a couple of hours at the bar with Ruby really be so bad? She did need some time off away from... well, everything. Being with Regina was nice and all – much more than nice, really – but their relationship was still new and changing and she wasn't always sure where things stood between them. Maybe some easy downtime with Ruby would be good for her.

"Fine," she agreed, "but if this is your way to get me to talk about my parents..."

"I'm not Archie. We'll talk about fun stuff." She leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "Like what's up with you and a _certain mayor_."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Ruby's only reply was a wide grin. Emma didn't find it particularly comforting.

 

* * *

 

Emma took a sip of her drink, closing her eyes as the burning liquid made its way down her throat. Despite the volume and the smoky air, she felt surprisingly relaxed. No complicated relationships, no judgmental parents, no expectations to live up to, just Ruby, alcohol and hopefully not too many drunken people to turn down. There was only one thing...

"Now, tell me _everything_."

Ruby had an unending thirst for gossip and juicy details. Not necessarily to spread around, but for her own entertainment.

"Come on, Em," Ruby cooed. "We're friends, right? And you can't still walk around with _that_ around your neck without telling me at least something." She made a pointed gesture at the scarf Emma wore, or more specifically, the collar that still sat underneath it.

Immediately, Emma shot her hand up to her neck, fiddling and making sure the scarf was firmly in place.

"Don't worry, nothing shows." Ruby put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, resting her chin on her palms as if she was a little kid waiting for the elders to tell her a story. "Come on... I won't tell anyone."

"It's nothing, really," Emma said lamely, letting her hand fall down to curl around her drink again. "I mean, we're... I don't know."

Ruby's eyebrow rose to almost impossible heights. "What does that even _mean_. You've been sleeping together for what, a couple of months, and now your wearing _that_ and have moved in with her and it's 'nothing'?" She made large scare quotes around the last word.

"It's complicated." It wasn't really complicated, though, when she thought about it. She lo– she _liked_ Regina a lot, liked how she was and how she felt, how she smelled, that scrunchy face she did sometimes, even the way she glared when she was annoyed...

Her increasingly dreamy train of thought was rudely interrupted by Ruby snorting loudly, a wide grin splattered on her face.

"You're thinking about her now, aren't you? Oh man, you've got it bad for her. Complicated my _ass_."

Emma huffed and took another sip of her drink.

"The only complicated thing about this is who you're going to invite to the wedding."

And Emma promptly choked on said drink.

"Would you k-keep it down?" she wheezed between coughs. "We're not even officially together."

Ruby's grin was all teeth. "Yet."

"Whatever," Emma muttered with a roll of her eyes. 

They drank and chatted for hours, keeping the topics light and the teasing frequent. The other patrons in the bar quickly realized the futility in flirting with the two women and let them spend the rest of the night in relative peace. It was easy and fun and Emma felt the tension in her body slowly evaporate – perhaps in sync with the alcohol she consumed. All in all, it was a good evening.

It was past midnight when Ruby downed the last of her drink and pushed away from the table. "Okay, I think it's time to go."

"But it's not even late," Emma objected, only slurring slightly. She wasn't sure how many drinks she'd had, but she knew she wanted to stay longer. "Isn't it like weekend soon, too?"

"You're drunk, Em, and I already texted Regina to pick you up. In fact, she's already here." Standing up, she waved at Regina who had just entered the bar.

Emma's pout immediately disappeared and turned into a dopey grin.

A few moments later, Regina joined them at their table, giving both women disapproving looks. "I see you've enjoyed yourselves thoroughly," she noted dryly.

"Ruby cheated," Emma huffed. "She doesn't get drunk."

"Werewolf blood has to be good for something, right? Besides, I got to see your sorry ass get hammered."

"Not as much as _some_ nights," Emma said, waggling her eyebrows.

Regina rolled her eyes while Ruby and Emma giggled. "If you two are quite done, I'd like to leave now before my clothes start smelling like cigarette smoke and cheap beer."

"Sure, 'Gina," Emma slurred, pushing away from the table and getting up on unsteady legs. 

Somehow, they managed to make their way outside without stumbling into too many other people. The cool air was a refreshing change from the smokey interiors of the Rabbit Hole and Emma felt her mind clear up a little bit.

"Thanks, Rubes, this was fun," she said, leaning heavily on Regina for support. The fact that Emma felt a bit more cuddly than usual surely hadn't anything to do with it. "You need a ride home or anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. I think I'll run home. It's that time of month anyway," Ruby replied with a light shrug. "I'm guessing wifey there has enough to think about without a tipsy werewolf to get home."

"'Wifey'?" Regina repeated, glaring daggers at Ruby.

Ruby just chuckled and shifted into her wolf. When the transformation was complete, she gave Regina a sloppy lick on her hand and then bounded off towards the woods, her breathing sounding suspiciously like a breathy laughter.

"She's lucky she's fast," Regina muttered.

"And fluffy," Emma noted absentmindedly.

Regina rolled her eyes again. With one arm curled firmly around Emma's waist, she flicked her free hand and poofed them both back to the mansion. 

They appeared in the guest bedroom, right at the edge of the bed. Too tired and drunk to really care, Emma didn't bother protesting her sleeping arrangements, instead promptly flopping down on the bed with a pleased sigh. She fell asleep even before Regina had finished ranting about undressing before going to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Henry is a little shit and I love tormenting him. Sorry not sorry.


	12. The Only Way Is Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, look what's back! Another chapter of this lil' fic. Just like all my other rather sporadically updated fics, the fact that it's been over a year since my last update boggles my mind. But anywho, as you can see, this fic is very much not dead and I'm still planning on finishing it.
> 
> This chapter got pretty long but I doubt you'll mind, hah. Also it was an absolute pain to figure out, but I think it turned out pretty well in the end. Sorry for the horrible wait and I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter :)

Regina was in a surprisingly good mood. She hummed to herself as she made pancakes, her mind pleasantly still. The sun was shining, she didn't have anything particularly pressing to do, and both Emma and Henry were living with her. Sure, things were a little bit more complicated than that, but this morning it just didn't seem to bother her. She was here, they were here, the rest would work out eventually.

Heavy steps descending the stairs echoed through the house, and then Emma showed up in the doorway to the kitchen. Her hair was a tousled mess, her eyes were only barely open, and her gait made her look like a zombie since lifting her feet when she walked was apparently too strenuous.

"Good morning," Regina chirped, smiling brightly at Emma. Perhaps one day she wouldn't feel the need to gloat when Emma dealt with the aftermath of doing something moderately stupid, but that day was still far away.

Emma grunted something unintelligible and sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island.

"Did you sleep well?" Regina asked innocently.

The glare she got in return only made her smile widen.

"I'm never doing anything with Ruby again." Emma's voice sounded like someone dumping a container of gravel onto a sheet of glass. "Ever."

"No? But you looked like you had so much fun yesterday."

Emma groaned. "How was I supposed to remember her stupid werewolf blood made her immune to getting drunk?"

"I'm pretty sure it did that last time you were out with her."

"Yeah, while I was getting drunk. Not like I remember much," Emma grumbled. She tried to run her fingers through her hair and winced when they got stuck halfway through. "Do I look as bad as I feel?"

Regina put the latest pancake on the plate of finished ones and looked over her shoulder at Emma. "I'd say you look like roadkill, but I don't think they'd want to associate with you, dear."

Another pair of footsteps sounded from the stairs before Henry appeared in the doorway, looking almost as horrible as Emma did. Thankfully, he only had burgeoning teenager's sleeping habits to blame.

"Morning," he muttered, plopping down on a stool opposite Emma. Giving Regina a bleary look, he perked up a little. "You're making pancakes?"

Hearing that, Emma perked up as well. Then she looked over at Henry and frowned. "What did you do last night?"

Henry yawned. "Slept. What did you do? You look terrible."

"Had some drinks with Ruby."

Smiling, Regina joined them and placed a plate of pancakes in front of them. "And this is why you should stay away from alcohol, Henry."

They ate breakfast together, with Regina doing most of the talking while Emma and Henry slowly turned into something that vaguely resembled functional human beings. When the pancakes were gone, the three of them split up. Henry shuffled off to get some homework done in his room, Emma went to take a shower, and Regina cleaned up in the kitchen and washed the dishes. It was all comfortably normal and Regina enjoyed every minute of it.

Regina had just put away the last of the dishes when Emma strolled back into the kitchen, now looking much better. Her hair was damp and she still had a towel hanging around her neck. Apparently, she hadn't bothered with a scarf to cover her collar this time. Regina had to resist the urge to pull her in by the towel and kiss her senseless. All those days since she had last had sex with Emma – she wasn't entirely sure how many but it felt far too long – were obviously starting to make themselves known.

"Hey. Henry's still in his room, right?" Emma asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes." Regina regarded Emma curiously, trying to figure out what Emma was getting at. Sex in the kitchen? Sadly, with Henry so close, she'd have to turn her down.

"Okay, good. I know I said I wanted to start poofing practice already but I'm barely past my hangover so I figured I'd just get the last things for the potion instead."

Regina felt a twinge of disappointment but quickly pushed it aside. "What's left?"

"That dread hound powder from Gold's shop, a screw from Whale, and..." Emma scrunched up her face, racking her brain for the last remaining item on the list for a few moments. "Oh, right. Pinocchio's hat." She gave Regina an odd look. "Are you really sure that one's necessary?"

"It's imbued with powerful fairy magic, dear. It's absolutely vital."

"Because, you know, someone could think this was all just an elaborate prank."

"If it was a prank, I would have included the pirate's hook too." 

Emma made a face. "I'm glad you didn't. I don't want to think about what I'd have to do to get that from him."

"Me neither. Now, the quicker you get going, the sooner we can start with the poofing practice." Before she could really reflect on what she was doing, she had walked up to Emma and kissed her cheek. Recovering quickly from her almost instinctive domesticity, she added, "Say hi to Gold from me," and then headed for her bedroom, leaving a rather dazed Emma behind.

They really needed to have a talk about all this, and soon.

 

* * *

 

Emma jogged up the stairs to the second floor in the hospital. As luck would have it, she saw Dr. Whale just as he exited a room, pulling off a pair of rubber gloves and tossing them in the nearest trashcan.

"Hey, Doc!" Emma called out to him.

"Sheriff," he greeted. "What can I do for you? Help with some kind of town-threatening emergency?" His smile was as wide as it was insincere.

"It's kind of a personal matter, actually."

"Really." His smile lost – if possible – even more of its sincerity.

Emma cast a glance over her shoulder, making sure as few people as possible were in earshot. "Look, I need a favor, okay? I'd rather talk about this somewhere with less people around."

"Huh. This is new." Whale knitted his brows together and looked set to say something else but decided against it, shrugging instead. "Okay." 

They made their way through the corridors to his office, Emma nodding curtly in passing to the few nurses they passed. Knowing Storybrooke, this little meeting would result in a torrent of new gossip, even without the actual contents of it leaking. Emma only hoped Whale would keep quiet.

"So, who's dying?" Whale asked as soon as they were inside his office, the door closed and locked.

"No one's dying. I need one of those screws you used when you tried resurrecting people."

Dr. Whale narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"

"For a–"

"No, wait," Whale interrupted her. "You know what, I don't want to know. I haven't lost my arm in a while and I like it fine that way. I'll give the screw to you if you get me something in return."

"I'm not setting you up with Ruby."

Rolling his eyes, Whale sighed dramatically. "So little faith. No, I'm talking about Regina's cider. Granny sold some special batch she got from Regina a while back and I want some of it."

"Cider? That's what you want in return?" Emma asked incredulously.

"Have you tasted that? It blows any regular of that regular shitty booze the Rabbit Hole serves out of the water."

Emma had to bite her tongue not to make some tacky joke about what of Regina's she _had_ tasted. "Alright, I'll get it done."

Whale smiled again. "Great. Then I'll have something to drink my sorrows away with next time you people blow up the town." He unlocked the door and headed out into the corridor, Emma following behind him. "I've got all my old stuff hidden away in the basement. Old bones, dried organs, nails, all that stuff." He laughed suddenly. "Good thing I really do have a screw loose, eh?"

Emma groaned.

 

* * *

 

Next up was Gold's pawn shop. The doorbell jingled as Emma entered, but Gold was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was out somewhere and hadn't bothered to set the sign to "closed"? Emma walked up to one of the shelves, running her eyes over all the various boxes and urns. With a little luck, she might actually find the dread hound powder without Gold ever finding out.

Not all of the boxes had name tags, but some did, and they ranged from innocuous to slightly terrifying. "Uncommon dirt" didn't sound too bad, and neither did "heavy beans", but "pulverized dragon's tongue" and "venomous milk" sounded decidedly less innocent.

She was crouched down in front of one of the shelves, trying to read one of the more illegible tags when someone cleared their throat.

"Sheriff Swan. What an unwelcome surprise." Gold looked anything but pleased.

"Oh, um, I was, uh–" Emma blathered, scrambling to her feet. "I didn't see you in here, so–"

"So you thought you'd help yourself. How _charming_."

"I wasn't–"

Gold held up a hand to quiet her. "Your son, your parents, and Regina, have all been here during the last week. I'm doing my very best to stay out of your family drama but you seem dead set on including me, so why don't you just tell my why you're here so I can get some peace and quiet. Free from the Charmings."

"I, uh..." Emma shuffled in place a little, feeling increasingly awkward. "Dread hound powder."

"Dread hound powder," Gold repeated incredulously. "It's a small miracle you've survived this far." Shaking his head, he nonetheless summoned a small box which he promptly shoved into Emma's waiting hands. "There you go, dearie. Now leave and tell the rest of your aggravating family that you're all banned from my shop until further notice."

The next moment, Emma found herself poofed onto the street outside the shop, the box still in her hands.

"That could have gone better," she muttered to herself.

 

* * *

 

Emma found Marco in his workshop, working on a very roughly sculpted block of wood. He gave her a tired smile when he saw her. "Hello, Emma. What can I do for you?"

"Hi. Actually, I was looking for Au– uh, Pinocchio. Is he around here somewhere?"

Marco's face fell. "He's in his room." He looked down, shaking his head with a rueful expression. "I'm not sure if you'll want to see him though. My boy is going through a phase right now. Listening to music, watching TV... he's trying to find his way in this world and I'm not sure I can help him." He looked up again, a sliver of hope in his eyes. "Maybe you can."

The chuckle that slipped out through Emma's lips was anything but reassuring. "I can't promise anything." _I'm here to steal your son's hat._ "I'm not that good with kids."

"Well, I don't think you can make it any worse." Marco gestured for a door farther inside. "He's on the second floor."

Emma thanked him and went into the house and up the stairs. With the heavy bass threatening to rupture several of her vital organs, it wasn't difficult to find which room was Pinocchio's. A "phase" was the worst understatement Emma had heard all year.

"Hey, Pinocchio?" Emma yelled as she knocked on the door, trying to make herself heard over the beat. "Can I come in?"

The music was turned down slightly and then Pinocchio opened the door, meeting Emma with a bored expression.

"What," he said, barely audible over the sound of Run-DMC's _It's Like That_. He casually adjusted his Captain America baseball cap. "I'm busy."

Too late, Emma realized that she hadn't planned how she would actually get her hands on Pinocchio's hat.

"You want something?" Despite his best efforts, Pinocchio's devil-may-care demeanor was somewhat undercut by the fact that he was still barely even a tween. The whole "moody teenager" look was a hell of a lot easier to pull off when you were, in fact, a moody teenager.

"Your hat," Emma said. "Uh, that hat you used to wear. Not this one."

"Oh. _That_ one." He shuffled back into his room and soon returned with the hat. "Whatevs."

Emma looked in confusion at the silly looking hat in her hands. It was the correct one, alright. "Don't you want to keep it?"

The way Pinocchio dramatically rolled his eyes would have made Regina proud. "It's _super_ lame. And I have a new hat."

"Okay." Emma winced as _Man from Milwaukee_ came on with enough bass to shatter a lesser creature's spine into fine dust. She was painfully reminded of the fact that most people still used the town's record store for their music needs, even though its stock had been frozen in the mid-00s for some reason. Good thing the internet was around for people a little more up to date. "I'll just leave then. Thanks."

Pinocchio mumbled something and then slammed the door in her face.

Shoving the hat down into her bag, Emma hurried down the stairs while her eardrums were still salvageable. She really had to talk to Marco about his kid's music habits.

 

* * *

 

It was an hour or so after dinner later that evening. Emma sat in one of the sofas in the living room, absentmindedly looking through some moderately interesting stuff on her phone. She had brought back the last ingredients for the potion earlier that day and now it was only a matter of waiting for it to finish brewing, or whatever it was Regina had told her it needed to do. Emma ran her fingers over the edge of her collar. She had become so used to it by now, hours could go by without her noticing it. Still, it would be good to finally lose it, because as much as she loved wearing it around Regina, doing it in public was a whole other thing. Fun in small doses, but she had no interest in bringing this particular part of their relationship to the public's eye.

She shifted in the sofa, letting out an annoyed breath. Despite sitting comfortably curled up with nothing pressing to do, Emma couldn't get herself to feel at ease. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, one that had brewed ever since she had decided to move to the mansion. Probably even earlier, come to think of it.

This was all too... good. The more time she spent in the house the more she felt at home, and the more that nagging feeling grew. She was only living here temporary, and it was stressing her out. She knew this particular feeling all too well; it was the same she'd had every time she had gotten to a new foster home as a kid.

That wasn't all, of course. Hiding her relationship with Regina – whatever it was – from everyone had been one thing, but now, when it had more or less boiled down to not telling Henry, she liked it less and less. As much as her plethora of childhood issues usually made her want to run away screaming from commitment, they just weren't strong enough this time. She wanted something stable. She wanted Regina.

Grumbling, she shuffled to her feet and set off to Regina's home office. She'd talk to Regina and get this sorted out right now.

It took all of about ten feet for her to lose her confidence. Talking wasn't exactly her thing, at least not about these things, while Regina could talk the wheels off a car. What would she even say? Their whole relationship had been weird from the start. Sex, more sex, kinky stuff... and now this weird domestic stuff. If she was going to be honest, though, the domesticity wasn't all that new, but it was a whole lot more visible when they were living together.

Emma stared at the floor, scowling. She wasn't sure what it was she was worried about. Henry probably wouldn't mind in the end, Snow would be Snow no matter what, and Regina was Regina.

With that ironclad reasoning fresh in mind, Emma gave up, threw caution to the wind and marched over to Regina's office.

 

* * *

 

Whoever had thought allowing paperwork to be filled in by hand was a good idea and a valid lifestyle choice should be forced to shove a dull pencil into their eyes, Regina decided, as she tried to figure out if the character on the paper was a "g" or an "i". How someone could have handwriting incoherent enough that those two letters were even remotely similar was a complete mystery to her. Perhaps she should pay a special visit to the author in question to make sure they were never allowed near writing supplies again.

There was a knock on the door, and when she looked up she saw Emma poking her head in through the door.

"It was kind of open. Do you have a minute?"

Regina pushed the papers to the side. It was about time she took a break from this torture anyway. "Of course, come in."

The way Emma shuffled into the room told Regina more than a lifetime of Emma's incoherent text messages ever could. This was either about Snow or about the two of them.

"So... I, uh..." She stopped a couple of feet away from Regina's desk, shifting her weight awkwardly between her legs. Finally, she sighed, her body slumping in the process. "This is ridiculous."

"Yes." She still wasn't sure what Emma was referring to, but the ridiculousness of it was overwhelmingly obvious.

"We should probably, uh, talk."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "And what are we doing now?"

"Okay, fine. We should probably talk about _us_."

Despite the ominous phrasing, Regina felt her heart speed up in excitement. She had thought Emma would stick to what she had said earlier, waiting for the whole collar deal to be fixed before deciding what to do with their relationship. Apparently, Emma was more impatient than that, and it suited Regina just fine. More than fine, really.

"Yes, we probably should."

To both of their credit, they did in fact talk. Both of them. With each other. For a while. But then, somehow, their talking turned into something else.

And so Regina found herself unceremoniously hoisted up on her desk as Emma kissed her hungrily. Regina locked her legs around Emma's waist, pulling her closer, grinding against her stomach. Emma was glad to help, one hand on the small of Regina's back, and one at the back of Regina's neck, pulling them tightly together. It was a little more forward of her than was usual for Emma, but Regina didn't mind the slightest. Changing it up a bit was always nice.

Still though, there was one problem that wouldn't leave Regina alone.

"Emma," Regina mumbled when Emma finally tore herself away from Regina's mouth and scattered kisses down the side of her neck. "Emma, wait."

Emma pulled back up, her pupils blown wide and her parted lips slightly swollen. Regina nearly pulled her in for another kiss right there.

"We can't do this here. Henry's upstairs."

Emma's disappointed pout was both heartbreaking and adorable and somehow very attractive. Regina blamed her hormones.

"Come on, 'Gina," Emma mumbled, pushing forward a little against Regina, pushing up her dress and grinding against her crotch.

Regina swallowed hard. The delicious stimulation on her clit coupled with Emma's smoky gaze made it very difficult to stay focused. "If you want to do this, we'll have to tell Henry." She did her best to look authoritative. "Otherwise you're sleeping in the guest bed again."

Emma grumbled and buried her face in the crook of Regina's neck, running her lips and nose across the sensitive skin there. It was terribly distracting.

"If you're not sure about this–"

"Oh, I'm sure," Emma muttered. "I just don't want to stop this. We haven't had sex in _ages_." Despite that, she sighed and took a step back. "But fine, let's tell him."

"Alright." Regina slid off the table and pulled down her dress into a proper position again, brushing away a few wrinkles. She looked up, only to find Emma looking at her with a lopsided grin. "What? Am my lipstick smudged? Damn, do I have to–"

"No, no, nothing like that," Emma assured her. "I just realized– we're dating now, aren't we?"

"Yes." That particular phrase had a nice ring to it, Regina decided. A very nice ring to it.

"Hah! That means we can finally gross out Henry in public."

Regina rolled her eyes and swept past Emma and her goofy smile. "First things first, dear."

When they had made sure they were presentable and their appearances wouldn't give Henry too many mental scars, they called Henry down from his room and sat down on the sofas in the living room.

"What's going on?" Henry asked warily, looking from Emma to Regina and back again. "If this is another one of those 'talks', I really don't need it. Seriously."

An amused smile threatened to break out on Emma's lips, but she managed to keep it under control. Regina coughed to hide her own smile, then schooled her features and said, "Don't worry, this isn't about you. It's about us."

Henry frowned, his eyes narrowed, and then it turned in a full blown scowl. "This is about that thing you've been hiding from me, isn't it?"

Regina shared a quick look with Emma, then cautiously nodded. "I suppose you could say that."

"I knew it!" Henry exclaimed. "So what is it? Some new villain? Monster? Another relative?"

"Well..." Regina cleared her throat. This was a little more awkward than she had expected. It looked like Emma thought so too, sitting rather stiffly, shifting in her seat slightly. "Emma and I–"

"We're together. Dating," Emma filled in.

Henry's scowl lessened somewhat as the news slowly sank in. A myriad of emotions flashed across his face. "Oh. That's why you're living here?" he said to Emma, his face lighting up.

"Um. Yeah. Pretty much."

Regina reached over to link her fingers with Emma's. "This is still pretty new to us, just so you know. We don't really know how things will turn out."

A few moment passed as Henry considered this. "So... you're in love, huh?"

Emma nearly choked on her spit.

 

* * *

 

Sleeping together with Emma was, in fact, much better than having her sleep in the guest room, Regina thought to herself later that night. She gnawed on her lower lip, her fingers buried in Emma's golden mane between her legs where Emma was keeping busy making up for all the nights she _hadn't_ eaten Regina out this last week or so.

Regina had never been so thankful for a soundproofing spell.

When she was thoroughly spent, the sheets soaked under her and her body feeling utterly boneless, Emma crawled up to lie down next to her.

"Three orgasms, huh?" Emma's smile was practically dripping with smugness. Well, it was dripping with something, at least. "And here I thought I was the needy one."

Regina huffed. "We'll see about that."

Emma looped an arm around Regina's midriff and pulled her in close, nestling her face into the crook of Regina's neck.

"This is nice."

Humming in agreement, Regina shifted to get more comfortable. She could definitely get used to this.

"Don't get too comfortable," Regina mumbled, even as she felt her consciousness slowly drift into sleep. Maybe just a quick nap, then she'd be the one to make Emma scream.

"Too late," Emma chuckled. "Good thing we've got all night. And a lot more."

For once, Regina fell asleep without a single worrying thought in her mind. Her family was living with her, Emma was curled around her, and there was no looming threat on the horizon.

Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself, I just had to add some fluff in the end. Those two idiots definitely deserved it. (Don't worry, it's not the end of the fic even if it might sound like it. We've still got a bunch of stuff to wrap up.)


	13. The Eye of the Snowstorm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! We are slowly but surely closing in on the end of the fic, but (according to my wild ballpark estimate) we've still got at least four chapters left, possible more. Don't quote me on that though.
> 
> Also sorry about that last sentence in the last chapter, heh. Despite how it's usually used, there isn't going to be some major massive tragic drama or w/e. This is still a kinda fluffy and cracky fic and that's not changing. Just so you know.
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments! Seriously, they are always awesome to read <3

It was a slow day in the sheriff's station, as it usually was. David was doing some routine paperwork, trying to cut down on the backlog as best he could. Neither he nor Emma were the most organized people in Storybrooke so most of the time all reports and complaints ended up in a pile on one of the many unused desks.

As mind numbing as the work was, he didn't mind it too much. The rift between Emma and Snow was still very much active and Snow had been in a terrible mood ever since the incident in the forest. In hindsight, that plan really hadn't been their best.

The door to the station opened just as he was putting away an old complaint about rabid unicorns scaring some family's dog. (As far as he knew, there weren't any unicorns in Storybrooke, but these days he couldn't be sure.)

"Hey, David. I was kind of looking for you." Emma lingered near the door.

David straightened and put away his pen. This had to be about Snow. "Hey. Do you need something?"

"Is Snow still pissed?"

He winced. They had lost another plate this morning when Snow had eaten her toast a bit too forcefully. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Well, that can't be helped, I guess." Emma rubbed her neck, her eyes flitting nervously about the room. "So, uh, me and Regina..." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "We talked to Henry yesterday and it wouldn't feel right not to tell you too." Another pause. "We're together."

"You're together," David parroted as the words slowly sank in. "Wait. You're _together_ together? Like, dating?"

Emma chuckled weakly. "Pretty much, yeah. We've been for a while, actually. Sort of."

"Huh."

Even though he was taken completely by surprise by Emma's admission, it did make some sense. A lot of sense, actually, the more he thought about it. The time Emma spent in Regina's house, the secrecy, the uncanny way they seemed to know each other – almost like Snow and him – and plenty of other little things. He wondered briefly if the scarf Emma had worn a lot the last week or two had something to do with it as well, but quickly pushed the thought aside. This was awkward enough as it was.

"So..." Emma said, pulling him out of his thoughts. She was watching David with a careful expression.

Realizing he probably should give some kind of good and measured parental reaction, he said, "Are you, uh, happy? Together? And Henry?"

The smile and the faraway look Emma got told him all he needed to know. "Yeah."

"Okay."

They both fell silent for a few moments as David tried to wrap his head around the situation. Emma wasn't living with Regina as friends, and she was most likely not moving back in with Snow and him any time soon, if ever. Neal and Hook and whatever other people Snow had wanted to pair Emma up with was probably completely off the table.

Speaking of Snow – she wasn't going to take this well.

"You're okay with this?" Emma asked, wearing that guarded, careful expression again.

David started to speak, but then hesitated. He had not watched nearly enough informational parenting videos to know how to act in a situation like this. "I'm... This is still pretty new." When he saw the way Emma's expression dimmed, he hurried to add, "But, you know, if you're happy, that's– that's the important part, right?" He cringed internally even as he said it. It was as if he had a shovel glued to his hands and couldn't fight the compulsion to dig.

"Sure," Emma said flatly. She shoved her hands down her pockets and winced. "Can you break the news to Snow? I think you've got the best chance of not making her blow up again."

To say he was excited about that particular prospect – he could already imagine Snow's horrified upon learning Regina of all people was now dating her daughter – would have been a complete and utter fabrication, but he did his best not to let it show. Emma had a point, after all.

"I'll talk to her. She'll come around." He made his effort to give he a reassuring smile. "We both will."

Emma gave a stiff nod and left.

Alone in the station again, David rubbed his forehead and groaned. He didn't know what he was dreading more: telling Snow that Emma and Regina were dating, or the massive amount of damage control – if it could even be called that – he was going to have to do with Emma because of this conversation.

 

* * *

 

Ruby hummed to herself as she looked through a blog with Halloween costume ideas on her phone. The diner was mostly empty, with some time left before the lunch rush hit. She frowned in thought. Would it really be a costume if she dressed up as a werewolf? She wouldn't even need prosthetic teeth, she'd just have to shift partially and try not to accidentally bite herself.

The door to the diner opened and the stench of old leather, seawater, and rum filled her nostrils. She scrunched up her nose in disgust. Hook was fairly harmless nowadays, but that didn't make him any less unappealing.

"Hey there, love," he greeted her with a sleazy grin, sidling up to lean against the counter. "How about you give me the best beverage you've got offer?"

"No problem." Ruby didn't bother to smile. "That will be seventy bucks." Hook still didn't seem to have any idea how the modern monetary system worked, so after Ruby had accidentally gotten him to pay fifty dollars for a glass of water once, she just went with it. On the other hand, he was usually dirt poor, so it still evened out in the end.

Hook nodded absentmindedly as he looked around the diner. "Put it on my tab."

(He didn't have a tab, of course. Granny had laughed in his face when had said it the first time, but he had been so preoccupied with ogling one of the waitresses that he hadn't noticed. After that no one in the diner paid much attention to what he said anymore.)

"Sure." She filled the first glass she could find with water and put it in front of him. "There you go."

He turned back to her, completely ignoring the drink. "Say, have you seen Tinker Bell recently?"

Disregarding, for a moment, the fact that Tink would most likely tear her to pieces with a rusty fork if Ruby ever let Hook know of Tink's whereabouts, this time Ruby actually didn't know. "Nope."

Hook hummed, his attention now entirely fixed on Ruby. Or, more precisely, on Ruby's chest.

"The diner isn't that busy right now, you know," Hook mused, doing his best to creep closer. He didn't seem to register the fact that there was a very solid counter between them. "How about you take a break and show me around town?"

Ruby leaned forward, smiling indulgently. As long as she could ignore the smell, Hook was pretty entertaining to mess with, and he was right about the lack of activity in the diner. "Pretty sure you've already asked plenty of girls that."

"Oh, I think you could show me a new thing or two," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"You know, I haven't done anything like that since my last boyfriend." Finally, all those sessions with Archie was going to pay of, at least a little. Hopefully.

Hook's smile became, if possible, even sleazier. Ruby didn't want to know why.

"I haven't seen him around. Didn't he measure up?"

Ruby grinned, all teeth, a little longer and sharper than usual. "I ate him," she shrugged lightly.

A hint of confusion flashed over Hook's expression. "And... he didn't like it?"

"Wasn't anything but rags and bones left when I was done." She picked up a toothpick and made a show of running it in between her teeth just behind one of her canines. When she was done, she tossed it aside and winked. "I've been sticking to women ever since."

Had Hook left any faster, he would have made skid marks on the floor. 

"Maybe he'll finally get the hint and stay on his boat," Granny muttered from her chair nearby.

A couple of minutes later, the door to the diner opened again and Snow entered, looking about as glowering as Ruby had ever seen her.

_Well shit._

Earlier that day, Ruby had gotten a text from Emma saying she and Regina were finally officially together, so figuring out why Snow looked ready to kill wasn't particularly difficult.

"Hey, Snow, how's it going?" Ruby asked, pointedly ignoring the proverbial thundercloud looming over Snow.

Snow took a seat on a stool by the counter. "I'm fine." Her scowl deepened and she shook her head. "No, you know what, I'm not fine at all. Did you hear about this... _thing_ with Emma and Regina?"

Ruby glanced around them, hoping no one else was watching them too closely. She'd really like to avoid causing a scene if she could. "I'm not really–"

"I mean, It's _Regina_!" Snow exclaimed, as if that explained everything. "So maybe she's not a villain anymore, but moving in with her? Sleeping with her? Doesn't she realize who Regina is? Just the other day, they were out in the forest, looking for something. I don't know what and neither of them would tell me. Something is definitely up."

"Snow, come on–"

"It's not even for Henry's sake, you know," Snow rambled on, clearly not noticing Ruby's weak attempts at dialogue. "If Emma and Neal just fixed things between each other, Henry could get a real family again. They could share him with Regina, even, like she and Regina– well, like they did before." She clenched her jaw and shook her head. "I just don't know how to make her understand this."

Had it been any other day, Ruby might have laughed at how fitting and oblivious that last sentence was. Today, though, all it did was make Ruby seriously reconsider her life choices. "Look, I don't–"

"Could you talk to her?" There was a sudden glimmer of hope in Snow's eyes. "I know Emma listens to you. Tell her to talk to the fairies. They can help her with the magic and make sure that–"

" _Snow!_ " Ruby snapped, her patience finally at an end.

For a few moments, no one made a sound. The few people present in the diner looked up from whatever they were doing, giving Ruby and Snow curious and wary glances. 

_So much for not making a scene._

"Sorry, nothing to see her," Ruby announced with an apologetic smile. Then she sighed and turned back to Snow. She was beginning to see where Henry had gotten his unshakable conviction and bloodhound-like urge to never let anything go. Ever."Snow, there is nothing to talk about."

Snow looked completely dumbfounded. "What? But–"

"No," Ruby cut her off. "I won't talk to Emma about this because there's nothing to talk about."

"Regina is bad for her. She's _dangerous_. Don't you remember what she did to us?"

"Snow, I ate my boyfriend," Ruby said flatly.

Snow bristled. "That's different!"

Holding up her hand, Ruby began counting on her fingers. "Emma and Neal used to be thieves. Hook is a pirate and David is an impostor. Tink tried to stab someone once and Granny threatens people with her crossbow on a regular basis. Don't even get me started on Mr. Gold. And you lived a pretty long time as a bandit."

"This isn't about me, this is about her–"

A derisive snort made them both look up. Granny, still sitting in her chair near by, was giving Snow a none too impressed look over her glasses. "Of course it's about you, Snow. You're scared because you only got your daughter back a few years ago and now you think someone is taking her away from you again. On top of that, it's not just anyone but _Regina_ , who you spent most of your life fighting and only now slowly begin to see as one of the good guys. No– we both know you wouldn't let Henry stay with someone you _really_ thought was dangerous." Granny narrowed her eyes. "I'm guessing you're also still feeling guilty about what happened to Cora, and worried about those black spots on your heart, but instead of dealing with your issues you're blaming all of it on Regina so you can sleep better at night. Only now that Emma is living with Regina and no one's seeing Regina as a villain anymore, you're not feeling that much better anymore. In the end, you want to sabotage Emma's happiness so you don't feel so sad in comparison, with the added bonus that she'll have to depend more on you, making you feel useful in your daughter's life again instead of a burden."

Again, the silence filled the diner.

"What?" Granny said defensively, as if her psychoanalyzing customers was an everyday occurrence. "Don't you kids watch Dr. Phil?" Shaking her head, she got to her feet, picked up a dishrag and went to wipe off some of the newly vacated tables.

Ruby shook herself out of her reverie, Granny's analysis having taken her completely by surprise. Snow didn't seem to have taken it any better, her face pale and her lips drawn in a thin line. Perhaps Granny's drive-by psychoanalysis hadn't been completely off the mark.

"I'll... talk to you later, Ruby," Snow mumbled, clearing her throat awkwardly. She left without another word, all eyes in the room following her as she made her way over to the door.

Scratching her head, Ruby watched Snow scurry off. This hadn't turned out nearly the way she had predicted. Maybe she should join Granny at the TV one of these days.

 

* * *

 

She was turning into a ridiculous romantic, Emma realized. Sure, sex and all that stuff was great, but walking outside and holding hands with Regina was on another level entirely.

"You're smiling like an idiot again."

Emma didn't care. "So are you."

Regina stuck her nose a little higher in the air. "I am _not_."

"You were." She squeezed Regina's hand a little. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone just how sappy you really are."

Regina chuckled and shot Emma a sultry glance. "Of course you won't."

The warm sensation that washed over Emma's mind as Regina took control was so faint Emma barely noticed it, but the feeling still brought up some heated memories from the night before. Emma licked her lips and reluctantly pushed the memories aside. This was definitely not the time for that. Satisfied that she had made her point, Regina happily turned her attention back to the street ahead, letting her control dissipate.

When they entered the diner, Emma couldn't help but feel a little awkward. She wasn't sure how many would consider her and Regina being a couple as news, or how many would still find it objectionable, even after all this time. At least Ruby was firmly on their side, lighting up the whole room with her grin when she saw them.

"Finally!" Ruby exclaimed, vaulting effortlessly over the counter and darting forward to catch Emma and Regina in a hug enthusiastic enough to lift them both off the ground.

(Emma made a mental note to ask Ruby exactly how superhumanly strong she was. It felt like a useful thing to know for future reference.)

"You took your sweet time, didn't you?" Ruby said after she had let go of them, before ushering them over to an empty booth. "Take a seat, this one's on me!"

Emma and Regina took off their jackets and sat down in the booth while Ruby bounded off to the kitchen. Silence hung in the air between them, all the while Emma did her best not to throw nervous glances over her shoulder at the rest of the diner every other moment. It didn't go too well.

"Emma, you look like you expect Snow to burst in with an angry mob at any moment," Regina noted flatly.

Emma had to chuckle at that mental image. "That's a terrifying thought." She ducked her head, feeling a little awkward for being so nervous. After all, she had been the one to finally decide to go public with this. "I guess I'm just a little unused to this. Us. Letting people see it, you know?"

Covering Emma's hands with her own, Regina gave them a reassuring squeeze. "I'm unused to this too, Emma."

Emma gave her an incredulous look and was about to argue, until she remembered just how good Regina's poker face was. The amount of times she had swore never to play strip poker with Regina ever again...

"I'm just better at hiding it," Regina finished.

"Yeah, I know." Emma sighed, but then smiled, turning her hands around to be able to hold Regina's hands in her own. It was a nice feeling. A _really_ nice feeling. She was definitely turning sappy.

A breathless gasp next to them pulled them both out of their lovesick ogling.

"Oh my god." Ruby was standing by their table with an awed grin, eyes sparkling. "You guys are so freaking adorable!"

Regina stiffened and huffed, but any attempt at regaining her dignity was severely stifled by the blush that colored her cheeks. "What is that supposed to be, Miss Lucas?" she asked, nodding towards the plate and the bowl in Ruby's hands, eager to change the subject. "You never took our orders."

"Come on," Ruby chuckled, "you really think I don't know you guys well enough by now?" Looking entirely too cocky for her own good, she put down the dishes in front of Emma and Regina. "One Raspberry Sundae with extra cinnamon and just a hint of that special ingredient–" she definitely meant liquor– "for Emma, and a plate of the best waffles this world has to offer coupled with banana ice cream – the one we reserve for special occasions – for Regina."

Inspecting her Sundae, Emma knew the battle was lost, and the way Regina's eyes widened when she saw her plate of waffles only confirmed it. Ruby knew them far too well.

"Told you so. Now, with that out of the way, I'll leave to your date." With that, Ruby flashed them one last shit-eating grin and then spun around and sauntered off to one of the other booths.

The sundae was, unsurprisingly, absolutely amazing. No, that wasn't quite right, because she knew words couldn't even begin to describe how good it tasted. As Emma moved to take another bite, she suddenly stopped, her spoon frozen halfway to her mouth. "Oh. Wait. This is a date," she realized out loud.

Regina shook her head, doing her best to hide her fond smile.

Shrugging, Emma took the spoon into her mouth, letting out a muffled little moan as the taste of raspberry ice cream and cinnamon hit her tongue.

Dates were fucking awesome.

 

* * *

 

Snow sighed in frustration, switching channel yet again. She had been trying to find something decent to watch for almost an hour by now, with zero luck so far. David was having the late shift at the station again so Snow alone in the apartment this afternoon, a painful reminder that Emma wasn't living with them anymore. Her mood dropped at the thought. Emma was probably with Regina right now, having fun, being hap–

She huffed and shook her head. Ever since that lecture by Granny, her thoughts had been an incoherent mess. What she needed now was some honest to goodness mediocre TV show to drown her sorrows in. Was that really too much to ask for?

Considering the way the door to the apartment suddenly flew open, she supposed it was.

"Hey, Grams!" Henry shouted as he weaved in and out of the different rooms in the apartment. "Have you, uh–" He disappeared into another room before he could finish his sentence. Then he appeared again, apparently victorious. "Don't worry, I found it!"

"Hi, Henry," Snow said, meeting him in the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"I'm going over to the Zimmers' and I needed this thing but I couldn't find it at home so I figured it was here. And I found it!"

Snow wondered quietly just how much sugar he must have had this morning. "Good. So... how are you doing? How are things at... home?" She tried her best to sound casual. Emphasis on "tried".

The way Henry lit up made Snow wish she had worn sunglasses. "It's great! My moms are together – did you hear? We're all living together and I thought it would be kind of weird 'cause then they'd be able to like, coordinate their mom stuff but it's really great! We're a real family now!"

"That's great," Snow said, focusing most of her efforts on keeping her smile in place. She wanted to be happy for Henry – she really did – but her feelings were too much of a mess for her to be able to seem genuine.

Of course, Henry saw right through her. When he had recovered from his initial outburst of enthusiasm, he studied Snow for a moment, then turned serious. "Are you okay?"

"Sure!" The shrill tone of her own voice made Snow wince internally. "I'm, uh..." She racked her brain for some way to explain it all to Henry, but came up blank.

Henry nodded solemnly. "I know it can be difficult for older people to deal with people who aren't straight. It's perfectly normal, though."

Snow blinked, unsure of which part of that bothered her the most. Older people? And she didn't have any problems with gay or bi people, some of her best friends were–

Um. Okay. _Maybe_ she still had some rough edges to smooth over. But that wasn't the issue here.

"Does Storybrooke have a PFLAG chapter?" Henry asked. "If not, you should totally start one. Granny could probably join too. And me!" His eyes grew wide and sparkly. "Can we do a pride parade? Or a whole festival!" 

Snow cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'll have to think about that, Henry." She shot a panicked glance at the door. She was in urgent need of some peace and quiet. "Shouldn't you head over to the Zimmers now? Wouldn't want to keep them waiting!"

"Oh!" Henry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Apparently he had completely forgotten about that. "Yeah, I really need to run now. Thanks! I'll talk to Ma and Mom about the pride thing too. Bye!" He darted out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him.

Tired and even more confused than before, Snow shuffled over to the TV and dropped down in the sofa. She turned on the TV, only to be greeted by some news report of a pride event somewhere. There were rainbows everywhere because _of course there were_. Any other day she might have enjoyed the talk of love and equality and all that stuff but right now it just hit a little too close to home.

She changed the channel, pressing the button a little harder than necessary.

Women's soccer.

Her lips drawn in a thin line, she gave the women on screen one look and then changed the channel.

Frozen.

No, she didn't want to let anything go. She smashed the button again.

This movie looked like some moderately entertaining romcom, until she remembered just how many times Ruby had told her it was her favorite. 

Not happening. The button creaked under her thumb.

Several button mashes, a rerun of The L Word, and an actual lesbian porn movie later – she was never using cable again – she finally gave up. 

A documentary about gay penguins would simply have to do.


End file.
